Adam: Cast From Paradise
by Digi-Dolphin
Summary: com. Caleb:CotS While Caleb is away on Derris-Kharlan, danger escalates for the Wonder Chef as his life as he knows it begins to crumble away to nothing. With the Heroes of Regeneration on the brink of assassination, dark secrets are about to be revealed.
1. Chapter 1

Well, I was convinced into picking up the slack on the Wonder Chef/Caleb series of fics for ToS, which means I'm juggling a lot more fics than I'm comfortable with, but at least these ones were completed long ago. So they were never posted anywhere. Go fig. Adam's story is companion to Caleb: Center of the Storm, as the events in both occur at about the same time, running parallel until they reach the Wonder War event. Now, because things from Caleb's future is a little different from the series I've written so far here in his past, we can just blame ToS2 for that, since its timeline crashed with the one I had for my fics and so I had to speed up the events in the history Caleb has in his modern form. Did that make any sense? Oh well. I'll try to keep both of these updated at the same time. Also, anyone interested in reading the complete Cast From Paradise poem should be able to find it on my dA gallery. ht tp: / digi-dolphin .deviantart. com/art /Cast-From -Paradise- 31802503

* * *

Adam: Cast From Paradise

Ch 1

The meadow of the Yggdrasill Tree was regaining more of its verdant glory with each passing day the tree grew strong. Vines and saplings slowly began covering the remnants of the Tower of Salvation, crumbling the rubble that had been left by its destruction years earlier. From the village of NeOzette, one could just about see the top of the tree and the many sparkling colors that danced around it were the mana beast clans collecting mana to spread around the world. In this sacred and sheltered meadow, the Guardian of the Tree, Martel, watched over the magical beasts as they performed their ancient duties. The Spirit of Mana, now called the Goddess of Symphonia, tended to the tree and protected it as long as Lloyd and the world kept the pact that had been made to her.

As Martel had taken the combined forms of Mithos' sister Martel and Tabatha, the automated doll, as a vessel to be reborn, the Goddess was now able to freely move from the spirit realm to the living world. In the process of taking this body, she also gained a younger brother, Caleb, Altessa's second automated doll. Many hours were sometimes spent by the goddess pondering her situation. Though the form she was in was used to having a sibling, Martel herself was not. And the fact that the bond between them was doubly strengthened because of Caleb's soul was slightly unsettling, but so far there have been no troubles. Caleb wasn't attached to Martel that completely, emotionally speaking, and with the adventures he'd been undertaking recently, his visits became fewer and didn't last as long as before. For that, Martel breathed a sigh of relief.

Then she would remember about Wren.

Wren, known better as Adam Voraci, known best as the Wonder Chef, was considered by Caleb to be the closest he had to a best friend. Isolated from everyone because of his looks and what he was, Caleb often could only count on Martel and Altessa, and sometimes the Heroes of Union, to treat him as an equal and a friend. With the rescue of the Wonder Chef from an incident long ago, Caleb found a sort of kindred spirit he could truly call a 'friend'.

Martel sighed again, this time with a sense of dread as she sat demurely on the giant root of the Mana Tree.

Caleb had found a friend, true, but his best friend was human and subject to all that being human entailed. A doll built by magitechnology, Caleb would live almost forever, eternally youthful and everlasting. Adam, Wren, would eventually die, as all living beings must. This may be the doll's undoing, as Caleb formed an attachment to his friend so strongly, one would say it was eerily familiar. For this, Martel would shake her head, almost despairingly, then gaze heavenward in search of an answer. Beside her, Orator, the wisest of the mana beasts and her personal companion, lifted his head from massive paws, dark brown and black-striped fur rippling in the breeze as he watched the meadow with a firm expression on his face.

A blast of white smoke erupted not far from them and Martel blinked. Standing there in the clearing of greenery and stone was the very man she'd been thinking about, Adam Voraci, along with a new girl she'd not been introduced to at all. Martel stood and floated off the root, pushing her troubled thoughts aside for later. This was new; the Wonder Chef in her meadow without her younger brother and Peppermint FireBlossom, Caleb's mana beast companion? This did not bode well.

* * *

Ginger Spicewood looked all around her in awe as Adam sighed half-heartedly and slid the Wonder Fork onto his back. Normally, coming to the meadow inspired a sense of understanding about the nature of the world in him, followed soon by the realization of how little he was in comparison to everything that happened around him. Now, it was just a reminder of pain and misery and old wounds that never fully healed.

"Wow! Is this _really_ the Holy Ground of Kharlan? I thought only priests and scholars ever came here!" Ginger exclaimed as she took in the sights with wide, almond-colored eyes, "It's amazing! Look! Here's what's left of the Tower of Salvation! Is it true that it was just a gate that helped separate the worlds before the Reunion?" Adam sighed again and closed his eyes, trying not to lose his temper again.

"Yes, yes. Big, stupid tower. That's right." he murmured and rubbed his head as he tried to get used to being in a world covered in mana again. The week or so he had spent in Shadow's mana-less book-world was unnerving for him, though exactly why it would affect him like this when Ginger was perfectly fine wasn't clear at the moment. He would need a good day's rest, a well-prepared meal and perhaps a hot bath as well before he could begin feeling anywhere near normal, especially after his narrow escape earlier.

"Oh my Goddess! More mana beasts! Look at them all! So Pepper really isn't the only one!" Ginger squealed and gasped, "Ohhh! And the Mana Tree! It's so beautiful and big! The link that connects the worlds, right? That's what the Heroes of Union called it, right?" She gasped again as Adam looked at her in irritation. "Who is that? Adam, there's someone here... she's coming towards us..." Ginger whispered fearfully as Martel walked up to greet them. The green-haired woman stopped before them as Adam folded his arms over his chest irritably.

"This would be Martel, Guardian of the Yggdrasill Tree." he answered. Ginger's eyes went wider and she dropped into a kneeling position, head bent over clasped hands as she began praying fiercely, eyes shut tightly.

_"__Goddess Martel, blessed be those that follow thy teachings. Thy mercy be all-encompassing and eternal. Forgive me of my sins and guide me to thy path of salvation...__"_ the words tumbled from her mouth, voice trembling as she struggled to remember the whole prayer. Martel frowned slightly and Adam blushed.

"Stop that! She doesn't like it when people act like that in front of her!" he yelled, "Martel's the Spirit of Mana, not the fake Goddess Mithos claimed she was just to get people to kill themselves for her!" Ginger snapped her head up and stared at him, horrified. Martel sighed and rubbed at her forehead.

"At this point, I may as well just accept it, right?" the goddess muttered, "Maybe then I can get the people to find something else to worship, eventually. I hope." She helped the confectioner to her feet and dipped her head in greeting. "Let's start this again. I am Martel, the Spirit of Mana and Guardian of the Mana Tree. And I would suppose Goddess of Symphonia, too, though that was never my intent." she remarked and smiled gently, "And you are...?" Ginger blinked and blushed furiously, trembling nervously.

"Ah, ah! M-my name's G-Ginger Spicewood! I'm a confectioner!" she stammered loudly. Martel's smile grew wider and she chuckled.

"Oh? Really? How sweet! It sounds like a fine thing to do." she remarked and turned to the Wonder Chef, "Adam, where are Caleb and Pepper? Has something happened?" Adam frowned and turned his head aside, gazing into the distance.

"They went to Derris-Kharlan. I chose to stay behind." he answered shortly. Martel waited and he growled. "I was told to stay here in your meadow until Caleb returns." he finally added. The goddess nodded.

"I see. Come with me, both of you." she murmured and turned, leading the way back to the tree. Orator stood to meet the newcomers himself, nodding his head at the blonde chef in greeting.

"Good day, Lord Wren. I trust you are well?" he asked. Adam smiled weakly and waved at him.

"Please, just call me Adam. Wren is just a nickname and, to be honest, I only really feel comfortable when it's just Caleb who calls me that." he answered, "And I'm feeling a little ill right now. I'm not entirely sure why." Orator raised an eyebrow at that and nodded.

"All right. Lord Adam it is. May I inquire as to the name of your lady friend?" he went on and grinned as the two humans both turned a shade of pink.

"There's nothing going on between us!" they exclaimed, "Why is everyone trying to say there is? We've got nothing in common!"

"I didn't say anything of the sort. I only asked her name." Orator corrected, still smiling, "But now that you mention it, you seem far too nervous for there to be merely 'nothing'." Martel turned and blinked at her companion, then looked at the two chefs for a moment before gazing distantly away. She smiled suddenly and looked back at them warmly.

"Ah, you must be the ones then. I had a feeling the day I first met you, Adam, that many great things would come of your life." she murmured. The two humans looked at each other in confusion, then shrugged, lost.

"My name's Ginger Spicewood. I'm a confectioner from Ozette." the dark-haired cook answered at last. Orator thought it over and nodded.

"All right. Lady Spicewood it shall be. Bride of the Wonder Chef, a fine title indeed." the mana beast agreed. Ginger turned red and sputtered as Adam groaned softly to himself.

"I'm never gonna hear the end of it, am I?" he sighed. Martel tapped her staff into the earth for attention. The group looked at her, confused.

"Okay, I think we've all had enough. Adam, Ginger, you two must be tired. The day is waning and there is much yet to be done." the goddess told them and raised her staff, summoning a pair of tawny mana beasts to her, "These two are of the MudPuppy clan, blessed by Gnome to be in tune to the earth. They will construct a temporary shelter for you. There is a hot spring not far from here in the forest and NeOzette is a few hours away if you ride the GaleForce mana beasts." Ginger stretched and nodded as Adam frowned in confusion.

"Wait, what did you mean by there being much to be done? Is something going on?" he asked her and stiffened slightly, "Does this... does this mean something's gone wrong with the Wonder Organization? What's happened to my family?" Martel reached out and placed her fingertip over his mouth, silencing him.

"Tomorrow, we will discuss this. Rest now, your mana was severely depleted and you're lucky to still be standing here like this." she told him and shook her head at his startled expression, "No more questions. Not tonight. Rest." With that, she lit up in soft, green light and vanished into the tree. Adam blinked and sighed.

"Why do I feel like everyone knows more about my life than I do?" he muttered and walked off to follow the MudPuppies and Ginger as they searched out a spot to make camp.

* * *

By the time the sky was filled with stars, a new hut was fully built and furnished to shelter the cooks in the meadow, a small campfire burning brightly just outside to provide light and warmth. Ginger sat on the fallen log that served as a bench and watched the simmering pot that hung over the flames. Things were so confusing now, and she was beginning to see what Adam meant by everything one knew being torn to pieces. Her own beliefs were crumbling the more she learned and traveled with Caleb and his friends. She propped her cheek on her hand and sighed sadly.

Once upon a time, Ginger dreamed of becoming Wonder Chef herself, a child's wish to use the title to further the fame of her family's candy. Once, she dreamed of becoming the world's greatest confectioner, with treats praised by royalty all over the land. And now, those dreams were gone.

Her family was killed when Ozette burned and her dreams of continuing the family business died with them. She joined the Dark Chef Alliance in hopes that their influence would help revitalize her work and bring the honor she felt the Spicewood Family deserved, then discovered her recipes were stolen to further the war between them and the Wonder Organization. The betrayal tasted bitter and she abandoned them. Traveling with Caleb and Adam and Pepper, Ginger learned of the Wonder Organization's intentions for Adam, and her dream of a peaceful group that would help her restore her honor went up in flames.

"This is all insane. And here I thought that the Wonder Organization would be the saviors of the world, not a bunch of old fogeys trying to kill their leader to gain more power." Ginger muttered and looked over at the edge of the clearing. She blinked and straightened in surprise. There he was, just standing there, looking up at the sky. She followed his gaze and spotted the round, shimmering violet and pink circle that was Derris-Kharlan. Smaller than Symphonia's moon in the sky, the comet was so far away, trailing behind as the world spun on through space. "And Adam is still scared of that place. But why? Why would he be afraid of a place he's never been to?" Ginger murmured and looked back, gasping as she found the chef gone. She stood quickly and looked around her, searching the meadow almost frantically. "Adam? Adam! Gah, he could be anywhere if he used that fork of his to teleport!" she exclaimed and ran for the hut, peering inside to check on their packs. The Wonder Fork lay on a bed of leaves and dried grass next to the chef's bag. Ginger tilted her head in confusion. "Okay, so he didn't teleport. Maybe he's in the forest?" she murmured.

* * *

If Adam had to name just one thing he liked about Tethe'alla, it would have to be the hot springs. Not only did that world have dozens of them all over the place, but they were great for cleaning utensils and dishes that had to be completely sanitized before being used again. Then there was that whole soaking in them for a good long while to relax and rejuvenate oneself. Nothing in the world could beat stress like a hot spring bath.

"I hope the joining of the worlds moved a couple of these to Sylvarant; I know of some people who could definitely use them." Adam sighed comfortably, up to his neck in the water. The pond he discovered on his walk through the forest was unusual, as if it had been crafted to suit different depths, and was surrounded by rock and rubble covered in moss. Perhaps it had been made by a MudPuppy, or one of Undine's Tempest clan mana beasts had a craving for a hot spring and joined forces with one of Efreet's FireBlossoms to create one.

Surrounded by the shimmering light of mana and warm water, the blonde began feeling better almost immediately after stepping into the pool. Maybe Martel had been right about his mana being drained, but where would it have been depleted, and why? Adam opened his eyes and gazed up at the stars, pensive as he turned the questions over in his head. There was a lot he learned in such a short time, and not only was it highly confusing, it was painful as well.

"So much I never knew, so many things that don't add up. Shadow's right about Eru; if he had the Wonder Fork the whole time, like the legends say, then there's no way he could have died in the ambush seven thousand years ago." he murmured, "But if he survived, he would have continued his bloodline. His family should still be alive. So where are they? Where is the Tanreht Family, the _true_ Wonder Chef Family?" He blinked at the shimmering star that was Derris-Kharlan and bit his lip, eyes tearing up at the thought of Caleb and Pepper being up there. "Please..." Adam whispered to the heavens, "Please, don't find out I lied. Don't let them find the truth."

The stars only twinkled brightly, almost mockingly. The chef sighed again, floating on his back as he stared up at the sky.

"What the hell did I do to deserve this?" he finally groaned before taking a deep breath and allowing himself to submerge completely into the pool of water.

* * *

Ginger pushed aside the brush and branches, grumbling to herself as she winced at the multitude of scratches and scrapes on her arms and legs. For all the crud she was going through, she had better find the idiot Wonder Boy in serious trouble or something. This was not how a lady traveled, no way; she was the last Spicewood, heir to all that was left of the Family! She had to find a confectioner equal to her skill, marry, and start the family over again. Ginger did not have time to deal with a bratty little blonde who didn't know which way was up every half hour or so.

"I am so going to wring his neck like a lump of taffy!" she growled as she stepped out of the foliage into a small clearing. She paused and blinked at the wide pool of water before her. It was steaming and surrounded by moss-covered stones, all shimmering in the light of beads of mana floating through the air. Ginger smiled brightly, eyes shining at the sight. "Now _this_ is more like it! I'll look for Adam later; Momma needs a soaking!"

Moments later, Ginger was thoroughly enjoying herself in the hot spring, drifting along the surface as she lazily tread water on her back. The stars overhead seemed to wink at her and she smiled wider. This was a perfect spot to relax. Once she found the chef, she'd drag him over and throw him into the water. Maybe that would loosen him up some and help him get over being so uptight.

"This is heaven!" she burbled and giggled, "Oh, if I had known this was here earlier, I would have staked this place out and told those mana beasts to make the camp here!" After a moment she glanced at the edge of the pond and blinked at the folded green cloth set on the grass nearby. "Hmm? That's not my dress." she murmured in confusion, paddling over to examine it. She picked up the first piece and spread it open before her. Her eyes went wide in shock. "This is...!" she began in a tight voice as the familiar brass buttons and white sleeves sent alarms pounding in her head, _"Aaaiiieee!"_

The water behind her erupted in froth as Adam surfaced in a panic, splashing about wildly as he tried to get his bearings and a lungful of water out of his mouth. Ginger screamed again, staring at him as she clutched the shirt to herself, eyes growing wider with each passing second.

"What? What?" the blonde yelled between coughs and focused on the source of the screeching. For a moment, both of them went silent, staring at each other in horror. Their faces turned red almost the same moment and both screamed in unison once realization brought life back to them.

_"Aaaaiiiieee! Get out!"_ Ginger screamed, curling her legs up to try to cover her whole body with one shirt. Adam backed away quickly, taking refuge behind one of the boulders that sat in the more shallow end of the pond.

"Me? You're the one who invaded _my_ privacy! You get out!" he yelled back and covered his face with his hands, "For the love of all things that still remain sane in this world, _put some clothes on!_"

"I _can't!_ My dress is too far away! I threw it off before I got in!" Ginger wailed, "This was supposed to be a relaxing soak! You ruined it!"

"You're ruining my clothes! Stop splashing around like some half-dead fish!" Adam yelled back, "Besides, I was here first!" Ginger only wailed louder. The chef blinked and groaned as he remained huddled behind the rock. How could this get any worse? "Did you take the soup off the fire?" The wailing grew in intensity. "Okay. So, dinner's ruined too. I suppose that's my fault as well?" Adam grumbled, trying hard to look at everything else but the naked girl across the pond.

"You _pervert!_"

"Maybe I should change my name to Zelos and be done with it."

* * *

It took a few minutes to calm Ginger down as Adam sat behind the boulder, looking out at the forest in annoyance. When she was sure he wasn't watching, she backed out of the pond and snatched up her clothes, dressing hurriedly while maintaining a steely glare at the hot spring. This was an embarrassment beyond anything she could imagine. To think that the both of them were in that hot spring _au natural_ and he had the _nerve_ to suggest that the whole stupid thing had been her fault!

And yet...

Ginger's face grew warm and she shook her head, clamping one hand over the brightly shining ring on her finger. The Sardonyx Ring was acting crazy again, and that was probably what was making her feel strange. She'd eat something filling, take a good long sleep and everything would be normal in the morning.

"Hey, can I get my clothes on now, or what?" Adam griped from his barricade and she swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. He looked around the rock and frowned. "Goddess, can't you even give me the decency of you turning around so I can get my stuff?" he snapped, cheeks still a burning red. Ginger spun on her feet and whimpered, shutting her eyes tightly.

What was _wrong_ with her?

* * *

What was _wrong_ with her?

Adam tore into the question with all the fury of an angel of judgment as he grabbed for his clothes and pulled them on. Did that Candy-Maker have nothing better to do with her time than find new ways of torturing him? At this rate, he'd be _begging_ the Wonder Organization to finish him off, if only to get sanctuary from the crazed woman standing not more than fifteen feet from him! He scowled at the waterlogged shirt and twisted it in his hands, wringing out as much water as he could. With only the undershirt covering him, traveling to NeOzette for fresh supplies was simply out of the question. And without those supplies they would have to go without dinner for the night.

"Couldn't get any worse, I said." Adam grumbled to himself and stalked past Ginger on his way out of the clearing, "When will I learn to keep my friggin' mouth shut?" He glared over his shoulder. "Are you just going to stand there all night? Come on! Least you can do is help me salvage what's left of that chicken soup!" he snapped and marched on.

Dark hair and pale skin. It stuck in his mind and no matter how many times he recited recipes in his head, it wouldn't leave. Dark hair and pale skin; wasn't that indicative of the people of Mizuho? Adam shook his head furiously, willing away the thoughts and turning his focus on the soup. If it hadn't completely burned, there should be enough liquid in the pot that another cup or two of water wouldn't dilute the flavor too much. The meat would be a bit tougher than he liked and the broth not as tasty, but a meal was a meal and if Ginger didn't tell anyone, no one would have to know that the Wonder Chef screwed up again.

Ginger mumbled something behind him and he stopped with a sigh, anger draining out of him with the thought that, maybe, it really _was_ an honest mistake. He turned to face the confectioner and blinked as she stood there, shaking and sobbing.

"Um." he mumbled and rubbed his head, a guilty flush creeping over his face, "Look, I'm sorry for yelling at you, okay? I should have told you I was heading out, so this whole thing was my fault." Ginger sniffled and rubbed at her eyes, hair still dripping water and mingling with the tears on her face. "Please stop crying."

"Why don't you just admit you hate me and that's that?" Ginger suddenly screamed at him and dashed past him into the Mana Tree's meadow. Adam stood in stunned silence and blinked.

"Ookay. I take it this means a simple 'I'm sorry' isn't going to fix this." he murmured and sighed sadly, "No matter what I do, I keep fouling something up somewhere. What a failure... the only time I was ever a valuable asset was when Mithos was in power, and I ran away from _that_." He shook his head and headed back to the camp, blinking again when Ginger stood before the fire, a fierce look on her face and a sack of ingredients in one hand.

"All right, Wonder Chef! This time, we go all out! This time, there's no turning back!" she declared and aimed a finger at him for emphasis, "I've had all the time I need to study your tactics! Tomorrow, we're having that cooking battle!" Adam sighed and shook his head.

"Ginger, we've played that game already..." he began and yelped painfully when she kicked him.

"That's Chef Spicewood to you, Wonder Chef!" the woman snapped, "I mean it! I challenge you to a cooking battle! The ingredient will be chocolate! If that Orator guy is as smart as you and Caleb say he is, then he can be the judge!" The blonde rubbed at his leg and stared up at her in shock.

"You really mean this? Ginger?" he exclaimed and cried in pain as she kicked him again.

"Spicewood, you idiot! Chef Spicewood!" Ginger spat back, "Orator will be the judge, the ingredient to use will be chocolate and I've got plenty of it for us to use tomorrow! If you win, I'll leave your stupid little party and be on my way to stop the Dark Chefs myself!"

"What? But-!" Adam stammered, shaking his head in disbelief, "That's **suicide**! They'll kill you if you go after them alone! You betrayed the Alliance when you quit!"

"Shut up! What do _you_ care? I'm just some stupid Dark Chef Candy-Maker to you!" Ginger snapped, "That's the prize if you win! I'll die and be out of your miserable life forever! But if I win...!" She tightened her hands into fists, eyes tearing up, "If I win, then... you'll have to renounce the title of Wonder Chef and give it to me! I'll use its power to destroy the Dark Chef Alliance and you can just die as plain old Adam Voraci!" she finally screamed.


	2. Chapter 2

Well, I was convinced into picking up the slack on the Wonder Chef/Caleb series of fics for ToS, which means I'm juggling a lot more fics than I'm comfortable with, but at least these ones were completed long ago. So they were never posted anywhere. Go fig. Adam's story is companion to Caleb: Center of the Storm, as the events in both occur at about the same time, running parallel until they reach the Wonder War event. Now, because things from Caleb's future is a little different from the series I've written so far here in his past, we can just blame ToS2 for that, since its timeline crashed with the one I had for my fics and so I had to speed up the events in the history Caleb has in his modern form. Did that make any sense? Oh well. I'll try to keep both of these updated at the same time. Also, anyone interested in reading the complete Cast From Paradise poem should be able to find it on my dA gallery. ht tp: / digi-dolphin .deviantart. com/art /Cast-From -Paradise- 31802503

* * *

Ch 2

Morning brought dread and tension as Adam explained the situation to both Martel and Orator with a heavy heart. This wasn't how he wanted things to go without Caleb around to referee them. Did he really need the doll around to keep the friction between him and Ginger from erupting into something like this? But, they spent a whole week together in isolation and everything turned out okay, right? Granted Adam's whole world was torn apart right in front of him, but at least he hadn't taken it out on Ginger, right?

"I take it the title I gave her didn't help." Orator rumbled thoughtfully as Martel shook her head sadly.

"You realize that no matter what happens, you will lose her to death at the hands of those horrid cooks." she murmured. Adam nodded.

"I know. And the idea of it... it hurts... like something stabbing into me and twisting around in my stomach." he muttered and gazed skyward at the faint comet that still could be seen up above. "I've been thinking about things all night, so forgive me if I'm still a little sleepy, but I believe I can still save her. I can't make candy, but I can make desserts, and chocolate happens to be the main ingredient to a recipe I recently acquired."

"And there is still much I need to discuss with you both about this Dark Chef group and the threat to Symphonia." Martel added, "This battle between you and Ginger will bring no good to either one of you."

"That's another thing. I know there is something very wrong at home." Adam went on, suddenly looking back at the goddess with a grim expression, "My communicator can't make contact with home base and I can feel that my twin sister, Eve, is in trouble of some kind, but also that her emotions and her mind are closed to me. I can't stay here like Caleb wanted; I have to go back and find out what's wrong." Orator nodded and stood up.

"I understand, Lord Adam. Very well. I shall judge your contest with the highest severity. When shall it begin?" he asked. The blonde looked back at the mana beasts and Genis Sage trying to put together an appropriate battleground.

"As soon as the kitchens are set up."

* * *

Genis put together the makeshift ovens as best he could and sighed. His first meeting with Ginger after returning from a trip to NeOzette was anything but cheerful. She had scowled when she learned he was a half-elf and fumed for a few minutes before she could manage to introduce herself without doing harm to the boy. Genis sidled away to talk to the Wonder Chef about the whole mess, but he gave him such a depressed look that the mage couldn't bring himself to ask why he was traveling with a human with such a hatred for half-elves when he himself was kind to all races.

So Genis remained clueless to all that was happening until after Ginger declared the setup to be adequate enough to use. He scampered off in relief. He would take his mana beast research any day over this, though he was curious to find out how the Wonder Chef would do in a cooking battle. Genis had seen Regal in a contest against one of the Dark Chefs in Meltokio and thought it to be a clever, though odd, way of settling disputes. At least, no one got killed.

But this Ginger girl, she was a strange one. He mentioned he had done a study on mana beast diets and she suddenly seemed interested in learning all about it. So he talked about his notes as he worked, naming a few foods he discovered were especially liked by certain clans.

"I hope this turns out well for Wren." Genis sighed as he sat on a tree stump and watched the two chefs take to the kitchens.

* * *

Ginger looked over her collection of ingredients and smiled. She could already taste victory and all its chocolate-coated goodness. Thanks to Genis, that half-elf kid staring at them from the sidelines, she had an edge to win. She glanced over at Adam and blinked.

The Wonder Chef stood there easily, gazing out at Orator as the mana beast prepared to judge the competition before his eyes wandered over to watch the other mana beasts playing, snacking, working, relaxing. Ginger raised an eyebrow. What the heck was he doing?

"This competition is between the current cooking champion, Lord Adam, the Wonder Chef, and the challenger, Lady Spicewood, the Last Confectioner!" Orator declared as he stepped forward. Martel sat by Genis and watched the events with a sad expression. Ginger felt herself faltering, then shook her head and cleared her mind. Her focus had to go into her candies; her wounded pride would settle for nothing less than perfect chocolate candy! "The main ingredient is chocolate! You may use any ingredients and methods you wish to create your dish, as long as chocolate comprises the majority of the dish! I shall taste each creation and judge them on flavor, creativity, and benefits!"

Ginger took a few deep breaths to calm herself. Things will be fine. Her candy was top notch. She had every confidence that they would win. She had her edge; Adam was just daydreaming. She stiffened in sudden anger. He'd better not throw this battle just to please her!

"Give me everything you've got, Wonder Chef! I'll kick your ass if you hold back on me!" she yelled at the blonde. Adam blinked and looked at her in surprise. "You heard me! Bastard!" He scowled and turned away, turning his focus on the ingredients he set before himself.

"Begin!" Orator suddenly barked and both chefs set to work, mixing and whipping and blending chocolate, nuts, fruits, cream... everything they had on hand to create the recipes they selected.

Ginger hummed softly to herself, the memories of being home with her father, grandmother and two older brothers, making chocolate bon-bons by the dozen for sale in Ozette, surfacing as she worked. The smells and sounds filled her mind as she melted the chocolate down on the makeshift stove and poured it into a shallow pan filled with small indentations. The extra chocolate drained into a second pan. Over the first pan, she poured a creamy mix of crushed berry and nougat, followed by the second coat of chocolate. Ginger smiled and set the tray to drain again before setting it aside to cool.

* * *

On Adam's side, the blonde had finished mixing up the batter and poured it into a cake pan. Sliding that into an oven of his own, he returned to cleaning off the remaining leaves of mint he had, set them aside and began chopping nuts while he waited for the brownies to bake. He, too, hummed softly, taking his time as worked. There were many plans his mind drifted through, picking them apart and looking for any flaws that may give him cause for alarm later, and some that he set aside to be implemented as soon as he had the chance. Genis was cheering for him, Orator stood in patient silence and Martel waited quietly, the solemn expression never leaving her face.

The brownies were done, he could sense it. Sliding them out of the oven, Adam set them to cool on the tray and sprinkled the nuts over the batch of them before cutting the fudge into manageable pieces.

* * *

Ginger tested the candy sample on the tray and carefully extracted the remaining bon-bons, setting them to finish cooling on a paper covered pan before drizzling the last of the cream over them. She set the tray aside and smiled warmly at her completed recipe. Her family's bon-bons had always sold well, and with the modifications made after listening to Genis's lecture, maybe this new version would be equally as popular. She would find out once she began producing candy for sale again.

Still smiling, Ginger looked over at Adam's dish and blinked, startled. What was that? It looked like cake, but cake wasn't that flat or heavy-looking! And it seemed to be made of pure chocolate... had the Wonder Chef gone _insane_?

"What the hell is **that**?" she blurted as Adam carefully planted sprigs of mint into each piece on his tray.

"Fudge brownies. Dwarven recipe." he answered briefly. He sounded distracted, as though his mind was far away from the here and now. Ginger looked a little worried; Adam didn't usually sound or look like that when he was cooking. Was it different when he was having a cooking battle?

"Are the contestants ready for judgment?" Orator boomed, stepping forward. Both Adam and Ginger nodded and stepped back from the dishes, hands behind their backs as they waited. The mana beast walked forward and sniffed at the brownies. "Tell me about these." he ordered, "What recipe is this?"

"Fudge brownies, mint and walnut variant. Standard recipe makes a baker's dozen." Adam replied, again in a distant voice. Ginger wondered briefly if he was going to pass out, but the chef stood still and steady. Orator maneuvered a paw and picked up one of the pieces, eyeing it carefully.

"It is a rather unique and unusual recipe, looks intriguing. The green of the mint on the darkness of the chocolate is rather pleasing to the eye." the mana beast remarked and bit into it, chewing experimentally. He swallowed and paused. "Delicious flavor, almost overwhelming to the senses." Orator remarked and smiled, "Ah, the crisp, refreshing mint helps to subdue the power of the fudge and the crunchy nutty texture breaks up the monotony of the chocolate while adding a delicate flavor undertone. And from the effects of the recipe... I would say it has a moderate mana restorative ability. Highly useful for mages. I give this ten points."

Ginger broke into a nervous sweat as she watched a small smile form on the other chef's lips. A perfect ten? Right out of the oven? _How?_ She groaned softly and shook her head. What an idiot she'd been! Of course it would turn out like this; Adam wasn't Wonder Chef for nothing!

Orator cleansed his palate and headed for the pan of bon-bons. Ginger swallowed hard as the mana beast studied them carefully. There was still a chance she could win, right? She had the edge; she knew what mana beasts liked in their food. Adam was just daydreaming, wasn't he? Or was watching the mana beasts what gave him the idea to add the mint and nuts that Orator liked so much? How does watching someone help a person cook for them?

"Explain this recipe." Orator's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Spicewood Chocolate Bon-bons. Berry crème nougat center." Ginger recited in a tremulous voice. She dared another look at the blonde, who watched her and the judging with full attention. Whatever had been consuming his mind earlier must have had its fill or something.

"Interesting. The swirls of light nougat on dark chocolate provides a nice contrast of color, the small size adds an air of sophistication; this is meant to be enjoyed delicately, fully." Orator went on and carefully picked out a candy with a claw, popping it into his mouth and chewing slowly. He swallowed and paused, mulling over it carefully. "The taste is remarkable!" he finally mused and clacked once, "A creamy river of smooth chocolate and naturally sweet berry pulp... it tickles the senses and leaves one with the sensation of ecstasy!" Ginger brightened and smiled cheerfully. That was what Spicewood candy was all about, making people feel good when they eat the treats. "Ah, delectable! For a mana beast, one bon-bon is nothing, but for a human, I can understand how it can be such a treat!" the mana beast purred and cleared his throat, "However, from what I can sense of its intended effects, it is only a small mana restorative. Not bad, though I think it has a potential for more if the confectioner works at the recipe a bit harder." Ginger's smile faded. Orator tilted his head in thought, then nodded. "Ten points. An excellent treat, indeed."

"A tie?" Adam asked in confusion as the mana beast sat down between the two kitchens again. Ginger shook her head angrily.

"No way! We have to a have a winner! There's no **tie** in a cooking battle!" she yelled, "I thought you could give us a clear answer!"

"I'm not finished, Lady Spicewood." Orator replied stiffly, fur lifting around his neck. Both chefs quieted and waited nervously as the mana beast calmed and thought carefully. "This is an unusual situation, and I've taken the three main points of a recipe into consideration, the same three points Lord Adam explained are judged in any contest of this caliber." he remarked, "And the answer comes to a perfect score for both parties. Now, adding a fourth point to this may help. I've judged each recipe on creativity based on appearance; flavor based on tastes and textures; and usefulness based on the effects they would have on warriors who may use them in battle." Orator paced for a bit, then stopped in mid-step. "The three-point system works well to a certain degree, but I believe you humans have forgotten another thing. Not only must a recipe taste good, look good, and have good benefits for warriors, but we must also decide on its ease of use."

Ginger and Adam looked at each other, lost. Genis blinked and jumped up in realization, waving an arm.

"Oh! I know! When Lloyd and I and everyone were fighting monsters, sometimes we had a hard time putting together a recipe to help us in battle." he told the group, "So if a recipe was easier to work with in the heat of battle, that would be the one we'd like and use the most!"

"Exactly." Orator agreed with a nod of his head, "And this is where the deciding vote comes." He turned back to the two chefs. "Lord Adam, your recipe is powerful indeed and a great benefit to mages everywhere. However, I have watched you prepare it and it is a rather complex recipe to put together, especially if lives are in immediate peril and every second counts." The blonde blinked and looked down at the tray of brownies with a puzzled frown.

"I need to simplify it some more then. But if I do it too much, the recipe is ruined. Man, this is going to be tough." he murmured to himself. Orator looked at Ginger.

"Lady Spicewood, knowing how there are very few true confectioners left in this world, your candies will be difficult to come by, but they are available already prepared for instantaneous use, despite the minimal benefits." he went on, "In a fierce battle, when a sliver of a chance is all that stands between one and eternity, a ready made bon-bon given to a mage can save the lives of an entire party." Orator looked between the two chefs that stared at him and nodded.

"I declare Lady Spicewood the winner of this contest." he announced and sat down, "Judgment is final." For a moment, there was only silence, then a strangled cry.

_"Nooo!"_


	3. Chapter 3

Well, I was convinced into picking up the slack on the Wonder Chef/Caleb series of fics for ToS, which means I'm juggling a lot more fics than I'm comfortable with, but at least these ones were completed long ago. So they were never posted anywhere. Go fig. Adam's story is companion to Caleb: Center of the Storm, as the events in both occur at about the same time, running parallel until they reach the Wonder War event. Now, because things from Caleb's future is a little different from the series I've written so far here in his past, we can just blame ToS2 for that, since its timeline crashed with the one I had for my fics and so I had to speed up the events in the history Caleb has in his modern form. Did that make any sense? Oh well. I'll try to keep both of these updated at the same time. Also, anyone interested in reading the complete Cast From Paradise poem should be able to find it on my dA gallery. ht tp: / digi-dolphin .deviantart. com/art /Cast-From -Paradise- 31802503

* * *

Ch 3

"You heard him, Loser; I win, so fork over the fork!" Ginger whooped, "Yeeaah! I _won_! I won the battle! I told you my candies would beat your stupid desserts any day!" Genis looked shocked and covered his mouth with his hands, an expression of regret flashing across his face. Martel remained still, never moving from her spot.

Adam snapped his mouth shut after startling the group with his cry of shock and horror. The color had drained from his face and Ginger worried for a moment that the blonde was going to pass out for real now. It was soon carried away by a renewed elation. _She_ had _won_!

"I've done it! I've beaten you fair and square in a cooking battle! Now give me the Wonder Fork and the title of Wonder Chef like we agreed! That was the deal!" Ginger declared. Adam stared at her, then sighed and bowed his head, eyes hidden by the blonde hair as he stood frozen at his own kitchen. The dark-haired confectioner waited for something to happen, a concerned look beginning to spread over her face.

After a minute or so, Adam slowly reached back and slid the ancient fork from his back, walking towards the green-clad woman as though going forth to meet his end. Ginger stiffened and swallowed a rising sense of panic. This didn't look right. Why was he still hiding his eyes? She watched him twirl the fork once in the air above his shoulder, then bring it down in both hands to offer to her.

"As promised. I, Adam Voraci, step down from the position of Wonder Chef. I place in my stead Ginger Spicewood, to carry the line and continue the battle. My life is forfeit in service to the Wonder Chef." he whispered tonelessly, "As Wonder Chef, you must carry the Ultimate Recipe." Ginger took the fork in her hands numbly, unaware that only one of Adam's hands fell away from the utensil. "When Caleb returns, ask for the crystal used in Hima. Speak the name of the half-elf of legend and learn the Recipe. Guard it with your life."

"This is wrong." Ginger whispered, concern growing into a sudden sick dread and realization, "No... Adam, this is _wrong_! I'm sorry; I shouldn't have demanded this! Take it back!"

"The Wonder Fork should recognize you as Wonder Chef, if Wonder Chef you truly are. Use it well." Adam continued, ignoring her pleas, "My life is forfeit; there is nothing more I can do as Wonder Chef."

"Adam!" Ginger blurted, shaking her head with wide-eyed horror. Genis shouted in realization as Orator ruffled his feathers and fur.

"His hand!" the half-elf cried.

"Good-bye, Ginger." the blonde whispered softly as he lifted his hand from the wooden handle of fork, leaving only his fingertips in contact. All he needed to summon the power of the Wonder Fork a final time... and vanish in a burst of shimmering white smoke.

_"Adaaaaam!"_ the confectioner screamed and dropped to her knees, clutching the utensil to her body as she sobbed.

* * *

Eve gazed down at the console before her. Once she learned that her brother had returned to the mortal world, she moved quickly to implement the next part of DuGorge's plan. She severed the connections between the Wonder Organization and all communicators in the field, effectively cutting off all contact between them and the Wonder Chef. She tapped out a new frequency and stood before the projection of Gluttonious DuGorge, Master Chef of the Dark Chef Alliance.

_"How goes things on your end, my dear?"_ DuGorge purred as Eve saluted him briefly.

"Adam has returned. Communications between him and the Wonder Organization have been eliminated, now commencing secondary stage of overthrowing the Organization." the Wonder Cook reported, her mind subdued and controlled by the Exsphere mounted below her neck, hidden under her clothes. DuGorge nodded, smiling proudly at her.

_"Excellent. Talk to that stupid Council of Gourmet Chefs. Let them think we're on the same side, but don't let them know who we really are. The more support we have on the inside, the easier it will be to destroy the entire Organization without much casualty on our side."_ he ordered and vanished as the projector closed. Eve nodded and turned to follow orders, stopping at the door when it opened and Estéfan stepped through.

"Ah, Eve. I was looking for you." the elderly blonde chef remarked, "How goes the search for your brother's communication signal? Can we get in contact?"

"No, Father. Communications systems are down. I suspect sabotage from the Council of Gourmet Chefs." Eve answered coldly, "Please let me pass. I have business to conduct elsewhere." Estéfan watched her leave with a concerned expression.

"Have we grown so distant in the years we've been apart, dear daughter?" he murmured and looked toward the screen. The soft light that symbolized Adam's communicator disk pulsed comfortingly from somewhere in Tethe'alla's forests, near the ruins of Ozette and the remains of the Tower of Salvation. He walked forward, pressed at the frequency console for a few moments, then sighed as only static answered him. Whatever had damaged the communications network would take time to repair, time they needed to have to escape the Organization and rebuild elsewhere. He would have to go and fetch Adam himself; once the Wonder Chef realized the scope of the situation, he'd have no choice but to agree and carry the supporters that remained to Alvanista. Once there, the Family and the supporters would begin moving into the secret base Estéfan had some old dwarven allies build for him. From that base, the Wonder Organization will be reborn, supported by what few allies were left to the Family.

"Adam, you must live to rebuild what Eru created, what the Council is now trying to destroy." Estéfan murmured and left the room.

* * *

Edela reclined on the sofa, reading through an old leather-bound journal by the candlelight, long, pale blue hair cascading over her shoulders freely. After a moment, she frowned. A sense of unease came over her and settled uncomfortably in the pit of her stomach. Setting the book aside, she stood and walked to a bowl of clear water resting on a small table, surrounded by candles flickering and casting their light into the bowl. Edela placed a fingertip to her lips, then reached down and touched the surface of the water.

_"Pool of vision, clear and deep. Tell me the vision that you now keep."_ she whispered and watched the images form from the depths of the water. After a moment, she gasped and the water surface broke, shattering the vision into nothingness. "Adam!"

Fears growing by the moment, Edela turned and threw off her robe, moving freely in the light gown of deep blue cloth held by a band of silver around her waist. She headed for the door, determined to see her son, then paused.

"Dragons take days to reach the place I seek." she murmured and turned to look at a narrow door not far from the table that held the bowl of water, "But I still have..."

In another moment, Edela was ready for travel, racing down the halls to the hangar as swiftly as her boots could carry her. She didn't care who may see her leave on the transport of her choice; her life could end this day and she would only regret the pain it would cause her family. Her son's life was threatened; she had to protect him, no matter the cost.

* * *

First, searing pain; then a burning heat that demanded him to scream though he refused; then a bitter chill that stole his breath, and finally, the sweet embrace of unconsciousness.

This was all that Adam remembered of those few moments before awakening from the teleportation. The Wonder Fork really didn't like this type of travel, and to keep him on proper track to get him to his destination, the utensil somehow managed to blend its properties into Adam's body for the time it took to get him to wherever he was going in one piece. Hence, the burning and freezing and the pain that made him crave a swift death.

But it was over and he was free. Just like he always wanted.

"Yeah, friggin' right." the blonde muttered hoarsely and crawled out from under the table in the Wonder Organization's library. Losing his title wasn't so bad and it actually helped his idea quite well. The plan had worked out so far; teleport home at the first chance and find out what the hell was going on so he could stop the Dark Chefs from whatever it was they were doing. This would keep Ginger from trying to do it herself and get killed. With the Wonder Fork in her hands and useless to her- Adam knew it wouldn't respond to her, she was superior in making candy, true, but that was not enough to warrant use of the Wonder Fork's power- Ginger would be trapped in the meadow, and if Adam didn't have the fork, it couldn't be stolen from him if things went horribly wrong.

Which he hoped wouldn't.

He staggered down the hallway towards the information center, passing several cooks who gasped at his appearance and tried to come to his aid. He waved them aside, ordering each one to forget he was there, his mission depended on him slipping through the base unnoticed. Once he had the data from the center on what the Dark Chefs' latest moves were in the world, Adam would have a better chance at predicting their intents before heading off to locate his sister and father. He would definitely need their help in stopping DuGorge, and they could provide transportation in the form of the flying dragons in the hangar. The doors to the information center opened and he looked through briefly before entering to check the computers. The room was dark, notes were stuck to the consoles, reporting damages that rendered them useless to the Wonder Organization and thus in need of dismantling later.

"This can't be right." Adam growled and knelt to pop open the doors under the consoles themselves. He gasped in shock at the wires that were ripped apart, the boards of strange black chips crushed and broken, as though someone had taken a sledgehammer or something to the computer's insides. He closed the compartment and stiffened as he heard the door open behind him. He spun around, hand reaching blindly for anything he could use as a weapon. His hand closed around a utensil of some kind and he tensed.

The door slid open and Adam leaped forward with a yell, brandishing the utensil at the young boy that stepped in. He blinked at the object and lifted it for a better look as the boy yelped in fright and jumped back, dropping a clipboard.

"A spatula?" Adam murmured and frowned, "I thought I told those cooks not to make pancakes in the information center!"

"Wonder Chef, sir! You're alive! How? When did you get back?" the boy cried in shock and Adam blinked at him next, spatula forgotten.

"Ardee?" he questioned, "What's going on? What happened to the center?" Ardee shook his head and took several calming breaths.

"You scared the holy hell out of me, sir! But I'm glad to see you're okay." the youngster breathed and rubbed his head, "It's been chaos here, sir, ever since we lost your signal ten days ago. The Council was getting ready to declare you dead and have your family exiled!" He gasped suddenly. "That's right! We have to protect you!" he exclaimed. The boy began flapping his arms hysterically, "I have to take you to your father and uncle right away, Wonder Chef, sir! Evacuate to Alvanista... the new base... new Organization... lots of converts!" he babbled. Adam shook his head slowly, looking more and more baffled as the one-sided wailing went on.

"Wait, wait... _Ardee!_ Quiet!" he finally snapped and the boy went still, eyes wide. "Calm down. Slowly; tell me what's happening."

"The Council has over four hundred cooks on their side now." Ardee began and went into a panic as Adam groaned and sank to the floor, "Wonder Chef!"

"This isn't _happening_... that's more than half the Organization, Ardee!" the blonde cried and sighed, "Continue..."

"Your father has called for all your supporters to gather together and await your return, then we would evacuate to Alvanista with your help. Once there, we're to move into a secret base and begin building a new Wonder Organization." the dark-haired young chef answered and stepped closer, bending slightly to look at the older chef from above his head, "You don't look good. Are you sick? Or hurt?"

"Take your pick. I'm all of them." Adam sighed, gazing up at what appeared to be an upside down cook, "How are we to build a new Organization with only a handful of chefs?"

"Dunno, but your father says we have to, 'cause the Council's all corrupt and junk. Where were you all that time? We were really worried that one of their chefs got to you or something." Ardee replied softly.

"Somewhere that blocks our signals. What happened to the center?"

"Somebody destroyed it and a good majority of our security measures. We haven't been able to track food supplies for a while now."

"So DuGorge has another spy in here? That's the only way this could happen; without this center, we can't keep an eye on Dark Chef activity."

"He must have also cut off communications; we can't get through to anyone outside."

"That explains why I couldn't call back here."

Adam sat up and dusted himself off, then frowned thoughtfully as Ardee toddled over and sat beside him, a faint expression of awe on his face. Adam noticed and sighed again.

"Ardee..."

"Yes, Wonder Chef, sir?"

"Don't look at me like that. I don't deserve it."

"But you're the Wonder..."

"No, I'm not."

"Sir?"

The blonde looked down at the confused little face gazing back at him, framed by messy brown hair and dominated by large amber eyes, and sighed again. He reached down and ruffled the boy's hair a bit.

"Nothing, never mind. So, we have a spy again. Why would he be destroying our technology when its our new recipes that are the bigger prize?" he murmured as the boy sat closer to him and carefully rested his head against the older chef's side.

"I miss my dad. It's been so long since he was taken away to the human ranch in Palmacosta." Ardee sighed wistfully, "If it hadn't been for you rescuing me, I would probably have been taken along with him by the Desians. I don't think I ever got a chance to say thank you, y'know, for looking after me all that time."

"I wasn't going to let them hurt you. I'm still a little upset that I couldn't save your dad, though." the older chef replied quietly. Ardee shook his head.

"But you still helped me. You fought off the Desians to save me, even though the rules said you weren't supposed to do that. You could have gotten in big trouble for it, but you did it anyway!" the boy protested hotly, "You did so much to help me and lots of other people like me! I'm glad you're the Wonder Chef; look at all the good you did!" Adam smiled sadly and shook his head again.

"And look at all the bad I've done, too. If you only knew what else I had to do, you'd hate me in a flash. Nothing purely good comes from being Wonder Chef, trust me on that." he murmured, taking in the small boy's puzzled expression, then stood up. "Well, now I know what's going on here. Time to see if Eve is okay or not." he added in a stronger tone. Ardee stood with him and dusted off his shorts.

"Oh, her? She's been acting funny lately." he agreed. The blonde paused and stared at him, puzzled.

"How so?"

"Well, she talks weird now, like she doesn't care about anything. Sometimes she talks to herself and she ignores everybody unless she says they're in her way." the brunet answered, checking items off on his fingers, "And her eyes are scary." He shuddered. "Scary."

"How?" Adam asked in a low tone, not liking where this was going.

"Like she sees right through you, like you're not even there. And cold. Very cold."

* * *

Ginger sat against the roots of the tree as she held the Wonder Fork limply in her hands. Her tears had long dried, but she still shuddered as if ready to burst into sobs at any moment.

"Wh-what went wrong? What happened? Where is he? Where's Adam?" she stammered between hiccups. Martel stood from her seat and walked to her, gazing down at trembling young woman.

"Ginger, did Shadow tell you about Eru?" she asked and the confectioner looked up in confusion. "Don't ask how I know. I'm the Goddess, remember? I know everything, but I like to hear confirmation of what I learn."

"Y-yes... He s-said that Eru survived the ambush. But what does that have to do with anything?" Ginger mumbled back, still slouched in grief.

"Does Adam know who he is?" The confectioner's confused expression was answer enough. Martel sighed and gazed up at Derris-Kharlan. "Very soon now, he will face that which he feared all this time. Unfortunately, because the Wonder Fork is not in his possession, this is the only way now for him to save those he loves."

"Derris-Kharlan?" Ginger asked, tilting her head and looking more confused.

"No. What he faced on Derris-Kharlan."

"But, he said he'd never been there..."

"He lied, Ginger." Martel interrupted with a stern look, "He lied to you, and to Caleb, and to everyone who didn't witness that incident." Ginger blinked in surprise. "At this moment, poisoned gels are being sent all over the world for soldiers and warriors. Addictive candy is being sent to select kings and government officials to enslave them. Lethal sweets have been sent to each of the Heroes of Union, in hopes that they will accept them as gifts and die from poisoning. Your candy is going to give the Dark Chefs the power to destroy this world."

"I was going to tell Adam. I thought I told him, but he didn't listen. I was going to use the power of the Wonder Chef to stop them, but the fork won't **work** for me." Ginger began a fresh sob.

"Stop that!" Martel told her harshly and looked out at the forest, "You are familiar with human ranches and Exspheres and all that, correct?" Ginger nodded.

"Uh-huh. What does that have to do with candy or Adam or anything?" she murmured as Genis sat in to listen as well, horrified at the idea of poisoned candy going to his friends.

"Martel, we have to stop them! My friends and my sister are in danger!" he cried and went silent when the goddess shot him a stern look.

"I will tell you why the Wonder Chef fears Derris-Kharlan, and why he is going to face that fear to save this world that Lloyd created." Martel began in a softly harsh tone, "When Lloyd's power began to grow with the breaking of the seals, and the food of the Wonder Chef further enhanced them, Mithos created a contingency plan called Subject A-481, the Final Chosen..."

* * *

The Council of Gourmet Chefs looked first at each other, then at Eve in contempt. They had granted her audience only because she posed no threat to them, and after spending the last few minutes listening to her speak they were doubly sure she could do nothing to help her brother.

"You honestly expect us to believe that you _want_ us to force your twin to step down?" Chef Dao sneered. Eve nodded. The Council laughed, a cruel mix of voices.

"You've seen for yourself the chaos and havoc Adam creates; the disgrace that he will continue to bring as long as he remains in power." Eve told them coldly, "My employer will aid you in bringing down this false Wonder Chef. He believes in your ideals, your cause to preserve the current well-being of this world, over Adam's radical ideas of breaking tradition just to advance his own fame." The group of chefs paused and looked interested in this.

"Your employer?" another chef questioned. Eve nodded.

"He wishes to remain anonymous for now, but says he will soon come to your aid personally." she explained, "Now, Adam has returned and will eventually make his way here to assert his power once more. We must strike quickly and either force him under your power, or kill him if he refuses."

"You would execute your own flesh and blood?" Chef Dao exclaimed in shock. Eve stood motionless before them, hands tightened into fists.

"I would and I shall if it comes to it." she finally answered the group of chefs, "However, it would be more beneficial to us all if he lived, though under your control."

"And how are we to do that?" another chef grumbled. Eve closed her eyes, the Exsphere at her neck shimmering as it further subdued her mind.

"There is a certain kind of stone that can force a mind into complete obedience to a master when equipped to a host with a proper mount..." she began and the chefs looked at each other with greedy expressions.

"Oh, we know of such a stone, Ms. Voraci. In fact, we have one already prepared right here..." they mused.


	4. Chapter 4

Well, I was convinced into picking up the slack on the Wonder Chef/Caleb series of fics for ToS, which means I'm juggling a lot more fics than I'm comfortable with, but at least these ones were completed long ago. So they were never posted anywhere. Go fig. Adam's story is companion to Caleb: Center of the Storm, as the events in both occur at about the same time, running parallel until they reach the Wonder War event. Now, because things from Caleb's future is a little different from the series I've written so far here in his past, we can just blame ToS2 for that, since its timeline crashed with the one I had for my fics and so I had to speed up the events in the history Caleb has in his modern form. Did that make any sense? Oh well. I'll try to keep both of these updated at the same time. Also, anyone interested in reading the complete Cast From Paradise poem should be able to find it on my dA gallery. ht tp: / digi-dolphin .deviantart. com/art /Cast-From -Paradise- 31802503

* * *

Ch 4

Ginger and Genis stared in horror at Martel once the story was finished. The goddess nodded and looked away sadly as the two of them sat silently, absorbing the new information.

"This changes everything." Ginger whispered.

"Mithos... how could you?" Genis murmured, hurt, "How could you make _three_ Chosens?" The confectioner stood and gripped the fork tightly in one hand.

"I'm not going to let it happen! I'm going to stop him and the Dark Chefs and the Wonder Organization and everyone who wants to hurt Adam!" she declared, "Too many people have already died to get us this far in rebuilding our world; there's no way I can allow one more death to get us further!" Genis leaped up after her, eyes tearing up.

"But, Ginger, if we stop the Wonder Chef, then millions of other people will die in a war! I hate this! This is just like with Colette!" he cried, "If we save the Wonder Chef, the world will die; but if we save the world, our friend will die! No matter _what_ we do, someone will die and it will be our fault!"

"Isn't there another way we can do this?" Ginger exclaimed desperately, turning to Martel, "A way for us to stop the Dark Chefs' plan without sacrificing anyone?" The goddess looked at her, then gazed into the distance.

"Perhaps, but we'll need Caleb to return. In the meantime, you can only delay the inevitable." she finally said, "No matter what events come to pass in the near future, Adam will accept the stone and become vulnerable to the Final Chosen plan. The cycle will start all over again." Genis shook his head in disbelief.

"It can't work, Martel! Mithos is dead!" he cried and the goddess turned on him, slamming her staff into the ground.

"No, he is not!" she declared.

"Yes, he is! Lloyd broke his Cruxis Crystal! I was there! I _told_ him to do it!"

"Yes."

"And Mithos died!"

"No!"

"But, Martel...!"

**"No!"** the goddess yelled, "Mithos' soul was freed from the crystal and entered Lloyd's Exsphere to finish its evolution into a Cruxis Crystal of his own! After that, it entered the Great Seed to help it germinate and produce this tree!"

"And then Mithos died..."

_"Genis!"_

The group blinked as Martel trembled in barely contained anger, her aura a faint red shimmer surrounding her body. They backed away slowly, unsure of what an angry goddess may do to them.

"All souls that are given to the Great Seed become _part_ of the tree. Because of that, I can touch those souls and send them where they need to go when they become mana. However, I can also send them as souls to those in need of them." she growled, "The last soul to enter is the first to emerge if the body they enter is not their own. Orator's soul is the exception because it _was_ his body his soul was returning to, but Mithos' soul went to a form that is not his own because _someone_ needed a soul to become alive."

"And this means...?" Genis asked hesitantly.

"If Adam succeeds in activating the contingency plan and comes in contact with Mithos, this world will fall under the World Prolongation Plan again." Martel growled.

"The odds of that happening are impossibly small, Martel." Genis pointed out and gulped as the goddess' eye twitched.

"Genis, surely you know _who_ recently gained a soul from me and spends almost every waking moment with our little Wonder Chef?" she hissed, "A form that is not Mithos' own that calls me 'sister'? Ring any bells?" Both Genis and Ginger blinked at her in confusion, then gasped collectively before blurting out the doll's name. "Finally!" Martel grumbled as a feminine form flew down from above them, riding on what appeared to be a giant teaspoon.

"Hail, strangers! Do not fear!" the woman exclaimed as she descended into the meadow. Genis and Ginger looked at each other in confusion and ran to greet the newcomer. The woman dismounted the spoon and slid it onto her back as she looked around in concern. "Where is my son?" she asked aloud, "Adaaam!

"Excuse me, can we help you?" Genis asked and paused, eyes glazing slightly, "Hey... are you a...?" The woman smiled and shook her head. "But..."

"Not now, dear." she went on, "I'm looking for my son. He may be in danger and I have to help him." Ginger gasped and stepped forward.

"Are you Adam's mother?" she asked and the woman looked at her for a puzzled moment, before turning fierce.

"You! You're the woman that tried to get my son killed!" she snapped, "What are you doing with the Wonder Fork? What have you done with my son? I demand answers!" Ginger stepped back quickly, startled.

"I.. what... wait! No, I didn't do anything! I mean, I'm sorry, but I didn't do anything this time! No, wait!" she babbled.

"Mrs. Voraci, please don't attack my guests." Martel interrupted smoothly and placed her staff between the group. "Ginger and your son had a cooking battle. Your son lost."

"Impossible!" the other woman declared hotly, glaring with all her fury at the confectioner, "My Adam can't _lose_! He's the Wonder Chef! This _harlot_ must have cheated!"

"The battle was fair. I saw the whole thing." Genis pointed out unhelpfully, "She won the battle and the Wonder Chef gave her the fork, then vanished in that puff of smoke like he always does." The woman stared at him in horror and he winced, wondering if it might have been better to have just kept his mouth shut.

"He teleported _without_ the Wonder Fork?" she cried, "Dear Goddess, have you _any_ idea how painful that is for him? How could you let him _do_ that to himself?" She wrung her hands and shook her head. "Never mind, never mind! Where is he? I have to make sure he's okay!"

"Back in the Wonder Organization headquarters." Martel answered and the woman looked pale.

"No! We have to get him out! If the Council or their supporters find him while he's still weakened, they could kill him!" she cried.

"It'll be even worse if they trigger Mithos' contingency plan in him!" Genis exclaimed, "But how are we going to save him? We don't know where this headquarters place is and we don't have a way of getting there in time!" Martel lifted her staff and smiled.

"This is where being friends with me comes in handy." she chuckled and summoned her power, "I'll send you to Hima and the mines, but you're on your own after that! Ginger and Genis must return here with the Wonder Chef once all is done; Caleb will come to this meadow once his mission on Derris-Kharlan is complete."

"Derris-Kharlan? But if Caleb's up there, won't that just...?" Genis began but Martel shook her head as the group began to vanish.

"It's too late, Genis! He's already remembering!" she cried, "Stop the Dark Chefs, before they destroy the world and revive Mithos by mistake!"

* * *

Adam and Ardee raced down the halls to the family quarters, huffing as they used every ounce of energy they had to run. The blonde feared for his sister, the description Ardee had given him could only mean Eve had somehow become a victim of the Exsphere, but how could there be Exspheres in the world if Lloyd was collecting them all and scattering them to the stars?

"Eve! It's me! Where are you?" he cried and Ardee jumped in shock.

"Wonder Chef! No! If the Council hears you, you'll be in danger!" he cried. Adam shook his head, wincing as pain streaked through him. He wasn't fully rested, this strain could easily finish him if he wasn't careful.

"I don't care! I have to save my family! This is all **my** fault; if anyone has to pay for my mistakes, it should be **me**, not my sister or my parents, or anyone else!" he exclaimed and rounded a corner, crashing into a group of cooks that marched up that same hall. "Oof!"

"Aha! It's that treacherous little brat!" Chef Dao declared triumphantly and quickly signaled one of his comrades to loop his arms underneath Adam's own, pulling them back as the blonde struggled to get free. Ardee jumped about in a fury.

"Hey! Let him go! Put him down! Chef Dao, you can't do that to him! He's the Wonder Chef; the rules say you can't harm him as long as he's the Wonder Chef!" the boy yelled and yelped as another chef grabbed his arm and pulled him up.

"Perhaps so, but the rules never mentioned not harming other chefs, did they?" he asked with a grin. Chef Dao nodded in agreement.

"Absolutely." he remarked and grinned cruelly at the blonde, "Hear that, little Voraci? Now, you be a good boy and do as we say, because we don't want to hurt poor Ardee, do we?" Adam glared up at the leader of the Council, teeth clenched tightly.

"Leave him out of this. Your troubles are with **me**, not an innocent young boy!" he growled.

"I'm sorry, Wonder Chef, sir. I knew I should have taken you straight to the hangar like Head Chef Estéfan said to." Ardee whimpered as he dangled from the second chef's arms. Adam sighed and smiled weakly at him.

"Ardee, it's okay. This was going to happen eventually. I'm just sorry you had to get involved." he assured the boy and took on a grim expression, "Okay, Chef Dao. What do you want of me?"

"Your sweet sister has made us an offer too delicious to pass up!" the Council leader remarked jovially. The blonde took on a startled look, then shook his head.

"I don't believe you! My sister would _never_ betray me to you!" he yelled.

"Well, she did. Told us you'd be coming, though I didn't think it would be this soon. You must have teleported here with the Wonder Fork, which reminds me. I want it." Chef Dao growled and his fellow chef pulled back on the blonde's arms, grinning at his sudden cry of pain.

"I don't have it! Aghh! Stop!" Adam shrieked, "Let go!"

"You don't _have_ it? How can the Wonder Chef _not_ have the Wonder Fork?" Chef Gray raged, "You lost it again, didn't you? You half-breed bastard!"

"What?" Adam gasped softly in disbelief. Fears of yet something more he was not aware of grew in him; was he really only part human? Would that explain Raine's confusion at his mana signature? Would that explain why Cruxis...?

"What are you saying?" Ardee yelled in outrage. He struggled even more fiercely, anger fueled by the contemptuous display. "How **dare** you insult the Wonder Chef! He's as human as I am!" Dao rolled his eyes and shot Chef Gray a venomous glare.

"Are you still on that stupid idea that Voraci's mother is an elf?" he growled, "For the last time, get over it! It's that kind of thinking that got us in the mess with the Dark Chef Alliance to begin with!" He looked down at Adam and called his name, impatient as the blonde returned to his senses with a sickly expression, "Explain, Voraci. Where is the Wonder Fork?"

"Where you can't get to it." Adam hissed and shut his eyes, turning away from the group, "And I **am** human! My parents are human, too! Don't ever say anything like that about my parents! I won't allow it!" He faced Dao once more, abruptly, with a look of controlled fury. "_I_ am the Wonder Chef! _My_ word is law here; not yours!" he spat harshly, ignoring the cheer of support from Ardee. Chef Dao scowled intensely, but Adam refused to look away. The Council members suddenly clustered around the chefs in the center.

"We're pushing our luck here. Let's get them to the vault before one of the Voraci supporters shows up and decides to give us hell." one of them muttered. The group began moving along, keeping an eye open as they passed down halls and wide kitchens filled with Council supporting cooks. Disregarding Adam's previous statements completely, Chef Dao gleefully outlined their plan to the two captive chefs, ignoring the younger of them as he wiggled furiously.

"...And once we have the full support of Eve's new master, we'll take control of the Wonder Organization and return it to its true form, the Royal Order of Master Chefs." Dao announced imperiously, "The preservation of our way of life will finally be ensured and your little scheme to have the wrath of Mithos fall on us will end. Then, we'll set ourselves to the task of maintaining the food supply and health status of this world. After all, in the time it takes for Symphonia to build itself up, there will be dozens of small wars, political strife and whatnot." He smiled at the blonde almost viciously, "Can you imagine the importance the people will place in our skills, Voraci? If you had just followed along with our plans, we all would be secure in our ranks as the world's saviors in cooking! When those battles destroy fields and storehouses, they'll turn to us for help, and we'll provide that help in exchange for the security of our futures." Dao laughed again, "And as long as we make sure they don't grow more food than they need, we can make sure they don't waste it all! Eru's dream of a world valuing its food will come to pass!"

"You're all insane." Adam realized with growing horror once the information sank into his mind, "This isn't the way of life Eru envisioned for us! He wanted us to maintain the world's health and well-being as it developed! Not freeze its current status for eternity just so people are forced to depend on us!" He looked around in alarm, "Where are you taking us?"

"To the vault so we can collect that precious little stone that will make you as obedient to us as Eve is to her master."

"My sister is slave to no one! And you're not putting that **thing** back on me!" Adam screamed, "Let me go! Eve! Where are you? Uncle! Mother! _FATHER!_" Ardee wriggled harder, then finally bit into his captor's hand.

"Argh! Dao! He bit me!" the chef yelled, dropping Ardee to tend to his hand. The small boy darted ahead and kicked the lead chef in the back of the knee, yelling loudly as the Council jostled about in confusion. Dao bellowed in a fury and waved his arms as he tried to keep balance, knocking over his assistant and freeing the blonde, who dashed forward at his first opportunity.

"Ardee! Let's go! Come on!" Adam called back and ran on, the brunet racing after him.

"Where are we going?" Ardee panted as they ducked into a large room further down the corridor, "Huh? This is the vault! This is where they wanted to take us!" Adam nodded, wheezing painfully as he headed up to a large metal safe and reached under his shirt.

"I know... I need to get... something..." he gasped and held up the glass pearl he wore on the thin chain around his neck, "Wonder Vault, scan the Eye of the Spirit. Open the vault!" A beam of light erupted from a tiny sensor by the gate and pierced the tiny pearl for a few seconds. The light faded and the door to the safe slid open. "Hah! Still works!" Adam cheered faintly and grabbed a small black box from the shelf inside, "Okay, got it! Let's get to the hangar!"

"We already had a dragon prepared for you, and a group of our remaining Wonder Cooks were collecting the utensils and ingredients in the lower levels! That's why so few people on our side were up here!" Ardee explained in a rush as they raced for the open gate that led to freedom, "I bet they were distracted so they couldn't help us when the Council jumped us!" The communication system crackled to life and Dao's voice raged through.

_"This is your Council Leader! All chefs and cooks of the Royal Order, we're officially denouncing Adam Voraci as Wonder Chef for the crimes of endangering the existence of the Organization and breaching the non-aggression treaty with Mithos and Cruxis! He must pay for his crimes! Adam is in the mine! Find him and bring him to me! Alive or otherwise!"_ the elder man bellowed. Adam glanced upward at the flickering lights and listened for the sounds of pounding footsteps, heart racing.

"I thought... the system... had been... sabotaged!" he panted as Ardee scowled at the message.

"Local systems are still operational, sir! We're almost there!" he cried and shook his head, "I can't believe what I just heard, though! The Council really _is_ corrupt! You're still the Wonder Chef, no matter what those jerks say!"

"Let's get out of here with our lives intact first! We'll worry about my title after that!" the blonde replied, urging the younger boy ahead of him.

The doors of the hangar slid open as Adam and Ardee raced through, chased by a dozen of the Council's supporters as they wielded everything from giant spatulas to massive rolling pins. Ardee struggled with an item from his pouch and threw it behind him. A small biscuit hit the floor and erupted in a blast of flour and sticky dough, stalling the traitorous chefs as the two of them made for the waiting dragon.

"Keep running, Ardee! We're just about outta here!" Adam called and cried sharply, stumbling as a burning pain suddenly bloomed across his back and his left arm went numb. The boy ahead looked back in sudden concern and Adam waved his good hand at him. "Ignore me! Keep runing!" he yelled, resuming his escape. Ardee reached the dragon and clambered on, clutching the saddle as the blonde leaped on after him, grabbing the reins of the dragon in one hand. "Go! _Kaii!_" The beast shrieked and ran for the opening in the side of the mountain, flapping its wings. Screaming still, it dove from the edge and plummeted several feet before spanning its wings and soaring away. The chefs stopped at the edge of the hangar and glared out at the receding creature before turning back to report what had happened.

* * *

"We did it! We escaped!" Ardee whooped and blinked as Adam groaned suddenly behind him, "Ah, Wonder Chef, sir? Are you okay?" He looked back and gasped, eyes going round at the pallid tone of his superior's face. The blonde smiled weakly, eyes half-closed and darkening rapidly.

"Ah... not really. Don't worry, Ardee. We'll... land in... Izoold... Everything will be all right then." he assured the little chef and grimaced slightly, "I think. I... don't know... anymore... I'm sorry, Ardee." The smaller chef grabbed the reins as Adam slumped forward, nearly crushing the brunet that tried to juggle his balance between himself, the dragon and the Wonder Chef to maintain control.

"Hang on, or we're gonna fall! I'm gonna land on the road there! We won't make it to Izoold!" the boy exclaimed and brought the dragon down closer to earth. He made out the figure of another cook riding the back of a land-bound dragon and headed for it. "Hey! Mister! HEY!"

Fredrik paused, holding back on his mount as he raised an eyebrow and looked around. Was someone yelling at him? Another scream. The Asgard cook looked up and panicked as he spotted a winged transport dragon dive at him.

"Ahh! Attack of the killer monster!" the cook shrieked and got out of the way as the flying dragon circled tightly overhead, then landed roughly. He blinked at the two passengers. "Huh? Hey! You're the guy I'm looking for!" he cried and rode back over, "Adam, right? It's me! Your old pal, Fredrik!"

"Help me! The Wonder Chef's hurt! Help!" Ardee wailed, struggling to keep his balance and support the sagging chef. Fredrik dismounted and ran up to help the two chefs, bringing the blonde down with a startled look.

"What the hell is a knife doing in this man's back?" he exclaimed and pulled it free, tossing it aside as he pressed a hand against the wound. Ardee quickly set a small fire and hauled out a portable cauldron, searching Fredrik's pack for ingredients. "Hey! Kid! Get out of there!"

"Help me! Please! I'll cook a healing meal; you've got to help him stay alive until I'm done!" Ardee sobbed. Fredrik wadded up his hat to use as a makeshift pad as he lay the blonde down on the grass by the road. He turned his head aside, checking the color of Adam's face and shaking his head.

"This doesn't look good. What the hell happened to him?" Fredrik demanded to know. Ardee explained what he could as he threw meat and vegetables into the cauldron, stirring a few times before pulling a small jar of a shimmering red powder from his pouch. He opened it and sprinkled a dash of the strange ingredient into the stew, then put it away. "That's crazy! The Wonder Organization turned on the Wonder Chef just 'cause he helped the Heroes of Union stop Mithos from turning us all into zombie angel freaks? What the hell kinda gratitude is that?" the Asgard chef shouted.

"Ugh, stop screaming... my head is killing me..." Adam groaned and the two cooks turned their attention on him. "I just wanna die already... oh, Goddess, this hurts... I feel like throwing up."

"Wonder Chef!" Ardee cried, tears running down his cheeks, "I'm sorry! If you hadn't had to wait for me, this would never have happened!"

"Get back to cooking!" Fredrik snapped and turned the soaked hat in an effort to stop the bleeding, "This is just insanity... Who stabs a kid in the back like this? And the Wonder Chef, of all people! Just how _many_ people want you dead?"

"I can count at least two I know personally..." the chef answered faintly, "Probably best... you can stop... just stop..." Fredrik snorted almost derisively, switching the soaked hat for Adam's own chef hat. "Dammit, Fred... I wanted to be... buried in that..."

"Shut up, Adam! I did not spend my entire two months of vacation time, running around Sylvarant, looking for your stupid, little, blondie Wonder ass, just to have you die in front of me now!" the cook snapped and glanced at the culprit weapon, "That thing's a dagger; whoever chucked it wasn't a chef. The blade doesn't look too long, so it probably nicked a vein. You can start weeping; you'll survive this one if that half-pint finishes his special soup or whatever." Ardee scurried up with a bowl of meat stew, a worried look on his face.

"If the wound isn't that bad, then why is he like **this**? He was looking really bad ever since I ran into him!" he cried. Adam sighed, turning slightly to look up at his two friends.

"I teleported into the Organization headquarters without the Wonder Fork." he whispered, "It does something to me, when I do that. I've only done it once before, to see what it felt like."

"And?" Fredrik pressed.

"Felt like I was in hell. I'm seriously messed up for the rest of the day after I do that." Adam returned with a weak laugh, "I don't have the Wonder Fork with me; I gave it to a friend for safekeeping. There's... a lot I need to get done."

"Not today. You eat and rest today." the Asgard chef told him and checked the wound, "It's finally stopped. I'll bandage you up, get some gels in you for now." He gazed up at the sky and frowned, "Sun'll be going down soon. We'll figure out what to do with you in the morning. Think you can live through the night?"

"Feed me that stew and I'll let you know."

Fredrik grinned as he began to dig through his pack for bandages. He looked over at the ten-year-old holding out the bowl of stew and gazing determinedly down at his superior. The tyke was dressed in white chef's clothes, though they were stained red in portions from struggling with the wounded chef.

"So, what's your name, kid?" he asked, turning to tend to the blonde. The boy blinked and smiled tremulously, the adrenaline of the day finally wearing off and exhaustion setting in.

"My name's Ardee DiAlano." he managed to say, "My friends call me Chef Boy Ardee. Kind of catchy, huh?"

* * *

Ginger, Genis and Edela arrived in the Hima mines shortly before Chef Dao made his announcement. They raced down the hallway towards the main chamber as Ginger tried to get her bearings straight. Genis barely had time to think, let alone gape at the architecture around him.

"Where are we?" he finally sputtered as Edela rushed them into the chamber, looked around, then led the way to another hall.

"Hima mines. This is where the Organization hides its Sylvaranti base." Ginger replied breathlessly, "I've been here before, but let's trust Mrs. Voraci's memory of this place." The woman ahead hurried faster.

"This way! If what you said was true about the Council activating Mithos' plans unwittingly, then the best place to start our search would be the Wonder Vault!" Edela exclaimed and lifted her head at the crackling of the local communication system.

_"This is your Council Leader! All chefs and cooks of the Royal Order, we're officially denouncing Adam Voraci as Wonder Chef for the crimes of endangering the existence of the Organization and breaching the non-aggression treaty with Mithos and Cruxis! He must pay for his crimes! Adam is in the mine! Find him and bring him to me! Alive or otherwise!"_ the voice of an angry-sounding man bellowed out and Edela snarled angrily.

"Chef Dao! That coward _would_ denounce my son behind the walls of magitechnology to protect his face!" she hissed and led the group into an open chamber. "I should fry him to a crisp for such an insult!" Genis panted and rubbed his head.

"The Wonder Chef had a non-aggression treaty with Cruxis?" he asked in confusion.

"Adam said it was to protect the Organization and the Wonder Chefs." Ginger explained quickly, "As far as I know, the Wonder Chef had to follow some rules Cruxis placed on them and treat half-elves equally. In exchange, Cruxis wouldn't use Wonder Cooks in human ranches and the Wonder Organization could keep its histories and magitechnology."

"And our Wonder Chef breached the treaty? How?" Genis questioned, still lost as Edela searched an open safe in the wall of the chamber.

"By teaching you and the other Heroes of Union recipes that were far more enhanced than the ones he taught the Desians and Cruxis, and teleporting into forbidden zones to teach them."

"It's gone!" Edela cried suddenly, backing away from the safe with a pale face, hands flying up to her cheeks in horror, "The Crystal! It's gone!" Ginger pulled her fingers through her hair, fresh sobs tearing through her body.

"No! This can't be happening! Who has it?" she wailed. The half-elf boy looked between the two women and stared at his shoes.

"This isn't good. The Cruxis Crystal is gone, and if we don't get it back and destroy it, Mithos could come back and try to tear the world apart again." he murmured and shook his head, "He was my friend, but how could he have managed to plan all this after his death? How did he know what paths were going to be traveled to set this up for his return? Or maybe he was forcing this to happen, working through Caleb to set us all up?" The group jumped as another announcement came over the communication line reporting the escape of the former Wonder Chef and a second younger chef. Edela wrung her hands and took a deep breath, slowly exhaling as she tried to calm herself.

"Adam's escaped, so he is safe for the moment. We must find my husband and warn him of what's happened." she finally said carefully, "Now that the Organization has reverted to the Royal Order of Master Chefs, it has gone out of the Wonder Chef's power. The Family no longer controls it, the Council does. If Estéfan or his mother, Iviana, return here, they will be killed by the Council and the Royal Order."

_"Why?"_ Genis asked, horrified.

"Because Estéfan and Iviana are both former Wonder Chefs. Iviana is the only woman in the Voraci Family to be Wonder Chef, and her son, Estéfan became Wonder Chef after her. Our son, Adam, is Wonder Chef now and must remain Wonder Chef." Edela told the group fiercely, "Adam is the closest relation to the children of Eru and Kartha to date! In his blood flows the power of Eru's cooking skills and Kartha's magic! If he dies, the Tanreht Family will die this generation! It will take thousands of generations before another child equal to Adam's power is born to continue Eru's vision!"

"So Shadow wasn't lying when he said Eru and his children survived!" Ginger cried in shock, "And Eru married Kartha? But, she was a half-elf!"

"A half-elf? Who's Eru? What's going on now?" Genis demanded, lost again. Ginger snapped her fingers in realization.

"That must be why Mithos wanted him so badly! And why Raine said his mana was so strange! He's a human with a half-elf's bloodline!" she exclaimed, "So now that we know this, how do we stop Mithos from getting him, and the Organization from _killing_ him? And we have to stop the Dark Chefs from taking over the world using my candy recipes to enslave the people!" Genis fumed silently over being ignored, then yelled.

"Hey! Don't forget I'm here!" he shouted and folded his arms over his chest. "Let _me_ think about this. I'm a genius magician. Let's see." He pondered for a bit, then nodded. "Okay, first, we have to get that fork back to the Wonder Chef. Without it, he's completely defenseless. Mrs. Voraci, it'll be up to you to warn your husband; we don't know anything about where he is or what he might be involved in. Next, we rescue the other Heroes of Union from the poison candy. Once we have my friends on our side, we can do some real damage. Lloyd, Zelos and Kratos can work with Cruxis Crystals, it's their specialty, so we have them track down and destroy the one that got stolen from here. Regal and I are good cooks, so we can help deal with the Dark Chefs, and that will be easier if the Wonder Chef can help us. Meaning, he needs that fork."

"Sounds like a good plan." Ginger mumbled, rubbing away her tears.

"Colette, Sheena and Presea are great at talking with people, spiritually and logically, and Sheena's a ninja, with great infiltrating skills. They can deal with this stupid Royal Order's problems before they interfere with the saving of the world." Genis summed up and frowned, arms akimbo, "That leaves us the problem of Caleb. If Mithos' soul really is inside him, we can't let Caleb get in touch with the Wonder Chef _if_ the Cruxis Crystal gets thrown in the mix. That would end everything right then and there in a real bad way."

"And he seemed like such a nice guy." Ginger murmured sadly, "To think that his soul belongs to..." She shook her head. "So sad."

"He _is_ nice, for now at least. But if the contingency plan activates, Mithos' desire to live and pursue his ideals may override Caleb's naturally good nature." Genis sighed despairingly, "We may have to destroy Caleb to stop Mithos. I don't want to do that. That's sacrificing yet another person to save the world. Great."

"We're damned if we do and damned if we don't." Edela told them and led the way out of the chamber, "There's nothing we can do about that situation until it arises. In the meantime, we must return to the Mana Tree and consult with the Goddess Martel about where Adam escaped to and how best to reach the Heroes of Union. I'm afraid that, this time, our secret war will spill into public knowledge."


	5. Chapter 5

Well, I was convinced into picking up the slack on the Wonder Chef/Caleb series of fics for ToS, which means I'm juggling a lot more fics than I'm comfortable with, but at least these ones were completed long ago. So they were never posted anywhere. Go fig. Adam's story is companion to Caleb: Center of the Storm, as the events in both occur at about the same time, running parallel until they reach the Wonder War event. Now, because things from Caleb's future is a little different from the series I've written so far here in his past, we can just blame ToS2 for that, since its timeline crashed with the one I had for my fics and so I had to speed up the events in the history Caleb has in his modern form. Did that make any sense? Oh well. I'll try to keep both of these updated at the same time. Also, anyone interested in reading the complete Cast From Paradise poem should be able to find it on my dA gallery. ht tp: / digi-dolphin .deviantart. com/art /Cast-From -Paradise- 31802503

* * *

Ch 5

DuGorge studied the maps spread on the table as Eve's image appeared on a nearby projector within a large office in the Famine Temple. She bowed in deference as she announced her arrival. The Master Chef grunted in acknowledgment and made no other motion for a few minutes. Eventually, he sighed and stretched, popping a few joints.

"The weather here is horrid. Why couldn't that idiot First Wonder Chef and his dwarven buddies have built this temple somewhere more temperate? I swear, sometimes I think Eru wasn't as intelligent as legend says he was..." he complained and looked over at the young woman, brightening upon seeing her, "Ah, Eve. Lovely sight you are. Do you have any idea how many idiots I have under my command? I swear, I'd kill for a good general right about now." DuGorge made a face as he looked back at his maps. "These things are basically useless now that the worlds are united. Land-masses are in places they shouldn't be, new lands materialized out of nowhere to get in the way of my shipping routes, and my incompetent troops are late delivering some of the candy shipments to the cities of Tethe'alla." He tapped the end of his nose thoughtfully and shook his head. "This would be so much easier if I had the Wonder Fork in my possession. Which reminds me... dear Eve, how did things go in the Wonder Organization?"

"They've allied themselves with you and denounced my brother only a few hours ago. He made an escape, but I..." Eve went silent for a moment and the Master Chef raised an eyebrow at her, "...I managed to throw one of the daggers you gave me. I believe I made contact." she finished reporting, "My father has been growing suspicious of my actions and is currently away from the base. And according to eyewitness reports, Adam no longer carries the Wonder Fork." DuGorge frowned.

"Well, where the hell **is** it?" he demanded. The whole reason for sending Eve back into the depths of the Wonder Organization's hidden base was to get hold of the artifact and bring it back to him. If it wasn't there, then...

"The Council is sending cooks out in search of the Wonder Fork. Also, there has been a breach in the vault. According to the Council, the only item that was stolen was a Cruxis Crystal." DuGorge's interest grew immensely at her words, eyes going wide as he moved toward the projector in disbelief.

"A Cruxis Crystal? Aren't those only worn by the Chosen? How did the Wonder Organization get their oven mitts on a _Cruxis Crystal_?" he exclaimed. What would possess Cruxis to give one of those precious stones to the chefs? Had it ever been worn? Who was it intended for? There were far too many questions being brought up from that one bit of new information. Eve shook her head, neutral expression unchanged.

"I don't know. It was something I was not informed of at any time. However, the Council had intended to attach the Crystal to Adam in hopes that it would allow them to control him." she answered bluntly, "May I recommend locating the Crystal first so that you have control of the Wonder Chef?"

"Sauri and Leo aren't doing anything useful for me here, so I'll send them to search Sylvarant for the Cruxis Crystal." DuGorge mused, rubbing at his chin as he considered the changes this would make to his plans, "And is your dear brother still alive? I do hope that dagger only slowed him down, not killed him. I still need the Ultimate Recipe." He looked back at the maps with a frown, arms folding over his chest. "Therein lies the true power I desire. Ruling this world is nothing compared to holding the power of the Ultimate Recipe in my hand." he growled softly.

"... He is alive. Weakened severely, but alive. It will soon be morning in Sylvarant; twenty-four hours will have passed since my father left this base. If the two of them meet, your plans here will surely unravel." Eve reported, her first words coming in halting tones. DuGorge frowned and turned back to her.

"Eve, are you hesitating on giving me information about your brother?" he questioned in suspicion. Was the Exsphere losing control over her? He couldn't have that; the Wonder Chef's twin knew far too much to be lost to him now. If she broke free of his control, he'd have to go through the trouble of imprisoning her. DuGorge would rather not subject a lady to that, especially one who had been a popular model in Tethe'alla.

"No, sir. Whatever I know about Adam I delivered to you completely." the woman replied easily, posture still as stiff as ever. It didn't suit her, in the Master Chef's opinion, but even he couldn't dictate how she would hold herself under the dominance of the stone.

"Then are you hesitating on following my instructions in regards to the condition of your precious twin?" DuGorge pressed, dismissing that thought in favor of confronting his suspicions of the woman. Eve went silent at the question. "Answer me, Eve." he growled, hands tightening into fists as he glowered at her, never mind that she was thousands of miles away.

"No, sir. I will do... what you command. You... are my master." she returned in that same halting voice, eyebrows furrowing together delicately. It was obvious now; Eve was attempting to fight the Exsphere, but only when her twin's welfare was the subject. He glared harder. "My brother is an obstacle in your plans. I will... eliminate... that obstacle..." she finally managed to finish, closing her eyes as the stone at her neck shone brightly. Her expression smoothed back out and when she opened her eyes, they were dark and empty again.

"Good girl. Now, I can't have Estéfan further empowering that brat. Not when things are so close to fruition. My candies, despite my troops' incompetence, will soon be available all over the world." DuGorge announced imperiously, "The Heroes of Union will die, the governing parties of this world will either be dead or enslaved to me, and all the warriors that could stand against the Dark Chef Alliance will also be dead. The Wonder Chef is in a position to leave this battle, as well as this world, forever. Especially if he remains clueless to all of the powers of the Wonder Fork. There **must** be more to that utensil that I don't know about. I must learn those secrets myself!" He paced back and forth in front of the projector, muttering to himself. "Eru's mastery over the Wonder Fork was legendary, unmatched since his suicide, but **I** will match and _surpass_ that mastery once I have it back! There's got to be a way of getting to all of its power!"

"Sir, orders?" Eve asked. DuGorge stiffened and spun around to face the woman.

"Estéfan has a penalty to pay for what he did to me." he hissed, stalking forward, closer to the projector, "The number one reason why I _live_ to steal the title from his wretched son, why I _crave_ seeing the Voracis writhe in the flames of their burning kitchens, is because of that half-elf loving bastard." He tightened his hands into fists again, imagining them gripping Adam's neck as they choked out his last breath. The thought made him bare his teeth in a smile that looked more like a grimace. "I will carry out my father's last wish and rip the Wonder Organization to shreds so our family can take back what rightfully belonged to us! I will **not** allow that man to strengthen his son! Not when I'm on the brink of success!"

He whirled around on his heels -he was always one for dramatics, he knew- and gestured outward towards the rest of the temple. "Eve, return to the temple immediately. We're going to prepare the troops for the siege on Hima. We'll destroy the base completely, burn it to the ground!" DuGorge declared savagely, "Once the Voracis find out that their precious Organization is on the brink of destruction, they will come to save what they can of it. And when they do... that family will **burn** with the last of Eru's twisted legacy!"

"Do you wish for me to join them?" Eve asked and the chef looked up at her in sudden surprise and concern, "To complete your plan, the entire family must die. I am of that family." DuGorge shook his head, a smile slowly growing on his face as a new addition to his plans started forming in his mind.

"No. I have _other_ plans for you, my dear." he murmured slyly, "In the event that I am unable to wield the full might of the Wonder Fork, my own sons shall. For that, I need someone who is closest to matching your brother's ability to have as a bride." He reached out and chuckled, brushing his knuckles against the illusory blonde's cheek, "And who closer than his very own twin sister?" Eve bowed her head, folding one arm over her chest in salute.

"I... understand, sir. I'll return at once to Flanoir. Eve, out." she replied and the image flickered away.

* * *

Adam woke to someone shaking him by the arm and sat up in shock before cringing in pain and falling back onto the pile of grass that served as his bed.

"What? _What?_ Ow! Stop it! I'm awake! What do you want?" he yelled angrily, "Make your own damn omelet!"

"I already did, idiot, but you were having a nightmare and were yelling stuff a little tyke like Ardee shouldn't hear." Fredrik told him sternly and glanced back at the wide-eyed little chef clutching a piece of toast in his hands. Adam sat up, looked at the boy in confusion, then groaned in self-disgust, passing one hand over his eyes.

"What did I say?" he grumbled, dreading whatever was coming.

"It was weird. You were yelling '_Al dente_, you piss-head, _al dente_'." Fredrik murmured to him, "Now, what the hell is going on in your head that you would have to scream at a beginner cook about pastas? You're the Wonder Chef; you teach cooking with a gentle form!"

"Agh... no, that was me. _I'm_ the beginner cook, back when I couldn't cook to save my own skin sometimes." he muttered and sat up, wincing a bit at the pain in his back. "Ardee? Are you okay?" The boy whimpered, holding his buttered toast like a shield. Adam looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry, Ardee. But I told you, I'm not who you think I am." he told the little chef.

"Y-you're the Wonder Chef, sir. The leader of the Wonder Organization and the savior of the culinary world. Everyone depends on you to save us all from the Dark Chefs." Ardee stammered and his expression changed to pity, "Just like the Chosen One's job. That must bring a lot of pain and anger."

"Yes. Yes, it does." Adam agreed softly and stood with the Asgard chef's help, "You can see the damage it does. Look at me now." He smiled weakly as Ardee scrambled to his feet. "I'm a wanted man now, Ardee. A criminal by the laws of the Wonder Organization. I've broken the pact with Cruxis, I exposed our greatest secret to someone who isn't my successor, and everything just started falling apart for me the day I became Wonder Chef." Adam paused, frowning slightly as he reconsidered that. "Well, actually, I guess it's been stewing since the day Kvar hit me when I was just a child." he amended with a one-shoulder shrug, "It's just taken until now to reach the boiling point and finish me off."

"Sir?" Ardee squeaked, eyes growing huge and wide with alarm and lack of understanding. The other cook frowned as well, hands on his hips as his brows furrowed together in confusion.

"Adam, what are you saying?" Fredrik asked, concerned by Adam's words. It sounded like he was saying he was doomed to this fate from the very start. The blonde stepped away from the group and looked down at the dying embers of the cooking fire.

"I'm saying that there's no point to me continuing to lie about this. Not anymore, now that everything I've done to help this world has caught up to me at last." he remarked calmly, gazing at one last stubborn flame cling to a bit of kindling before finally dying away, "My end is coming... no, it's already here." The other two cooks looked at each other in growing concern, then stared back at the young chef. Adam sighed and gazed skyward, holding back tears that threatened to fall. "The Wonder Organization is dead, Ardee, and you and my family and my supporters and even Fredrik there... all of you are all that's left of it. And that is pathetically small compared to the combined fury of the Dark Chef Alliance and the Royal Order of Master Chefs."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Fredrik demanded. Ardee nodded fiercely.

"Yeah! It doesn't matter how many people those backstabbers have on their side!" the boy declared hotly, "You're the Wonder Chef! Even if we're not the Wonder Organization anymore, we'll still follow you into battle...!"

"No!" Adam snapped sharply, shooting them both a glare fierce enough to make them both jump and clap their hands over their mouths, "No one is following me into anything! Battles and wars lead to death and destruction; I won't have more people die because of me." He watched them for a moment, his expression slowly melting in a forlorn one, then sighed and looked out at the land, ignoring their startled faces. "I want to save this world from the Dark Chefs and the Royal Order; from their madness, from their intent to use our recipes to hurt this world, from everything that could use what food is in this world to destroy it." Adam murmured, one hand reaching up to grip at his injured shoulder before moving to trace over the near invisible scar on his face, hidden by the fringe of hair he kept swept over his left eye. He smiled after a moment and finally looked over at the two chefs, eyes bright and sparkling. "I'm going to protect Ginger from the Dark Chef Alliance, I'm going to free my sister from enslavement, I'm going to save the world! And I will gladly die doing it!" he finished cheerfully, "And when I die, the fighting will end! You'll have peace again, guys; won't that be wonderful?" He laughed as the two cooks gaped at him in disbelief.

"That's crazy! You don't have the strength to continue walking around, what the hell makes you think you can save the whole _world_?" Fredrik snapped back incredulously, shaking a fist at the still grinning blonde, "And you're **not** going to die! How the hell is that gonna fix anything? We're taking you to Izoold, we're getting a mage to finish healing you and we are going to hide you away somewhere until this whole stupid thing blows over!"

"Wonder Chef, sir!" Ardee cried, throwing out his hands in a gesture of pleading, "No! You... you **can't** die! You're our inspiration! Without you, the hopes and dreams of all cooks around the world will die too!" He shook his head, tears running down his face angrily, "I can't allow it, sir! I'm sorry! Your father needs you, your family needs you, we **all** need you! Why are you willing to throw yourself away for that stupid Dark Chef spy?" Adam softened, shaking his head slightly.

"Funny thing, Ardee. I... feel something about her... for her... She may have been our enemy once, but she's traveled with me for a couple of months or so and... things are different." he murmured, a faint blush coloring his cheeks as he glanced aside, smiling at the memories of those travels. Fredrik scowled as the boy chef looked confused, head tilting one way.

"You **are** an idiot!" the Asgard chef yelled, face turning red, "Are you telling us that you're planning to die just 'cause you're in love with some chick that was hired to kill you?" Jolted out of the peaceable nostalgia, Adam glared at him askance, visible eye twitching slightly as he folded his arms over his chest with only the slightest wince of pain.

"I didn't _say_ that!" Adam protested even as his blush deepened, "A-Anyway, she wasn't hired to **kill** me; she was sent to lead me into an ambush. That's old history; she's completely reformed now!" Ardee wailed louder, still traumatized by the events of that day so long ago. "Ardee, stop it! You're a Wonder Cook! Wonder Cooks don't cry like that!" the chef scolded in exasperation, turning in place to face the boy and planting his hands on his hips to appear more in control, "You have to be strong now! There's no way you can go to Alvanista by yourself, so you'll have to travel with Fredrik until the two of you can get there. Then tell my father that I've gone to fulfill my last duties as Wonder Chef and I won't be coming back."

"**No!** I **won't**! You're **not** gonna die! You're not going _anywhere_! You're too sick to do anything!" Ardee yelled back, waving his fists at the young Wonder Chef in a tantrum, "How can you save the world when you don't have the strength? You **can't** do it!" Adam pulled the black box from his pack and showed it to them, a grim look on his face.

"This will give me all the strength I need... and probably more." he told them and opened it. Fredrik and Ardee peered into the case at a shining red stone set into a yellow-gold mount shaped somewhat like a winged figure. Ardee blinked in confusion as Fredrik's eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"What is that? It's pretty." Ardee remarked, eyes wide and shining with unshed tears and awe.

"A Cruxis Crystal! What are you doing with a _Cruxis Crystal_? That's a religious thing and last I checked, it's the religion that was gonna get us all killed." Fredrik exclaimed in shock. Adam lifted the mount and stone from within the box, studying it as it lay in the palm of his hand.

"It's _my_ Cruxis Crystal. Three years ago, I was captured by Mithos Yggdrasill and they put this on me to turn me into an angel. After two weeks of imprisonment, I managed to escape and returned to Hima, where my father had some dwarven friends help remove this thing." he revealed, dropping the box carelessly as the other two chefs gasped in shock. Adam pulled the tattered red cape over his head and dropped it onto the ground as well, then began unbuttoning his shirt.

"What do you think you're _doing_? We've learned what those things do to people!" Fredrik exclaimed in alarm, unable to bring himself to move out of fear of the gleaming stone in the blonde's hand, "The best you can hope for is getting your soul sucked out of your body like someone slurping up spaghetti!"

"I've had that happen to me already." Adam returned in an unnaturally calm, almost conversational tone, smiling over at him, "It's not so bad, if you don't mind the part where you can't really **do** anything other than just exist there like that."

"Wonder Chef! You can't!" Ardee cried, hands grabbing at his own head in dismay and horror. Adam focused more intently on the mount and stone in his hand as he held it before himself, trying and failing to ignore the voice in his own mind wailing out to stop, to throw the thing away because if Caleb ever found out about this, the doll would probably be furious.

"I can, and I **will**. With this Cruxis Crystal, I'll have the strength to save the world, for all of you who deserve to live in it more than me. Caleb, I'm _so_ sorry." he whispered and shut his eyes tightly, pressing the mount against the base of his neck. A strange violet light rippled over the stone and the yellow-gold of the ore, the runic characters carved into the wings of the mount glowing softly, then fading as Adam pulled his hand away. The Cruxis Crystal remained attached to his skin, shining in the light of the morning sun.

"Now you really **are** gonna die." Fredrik sighed in disappointment, "You are a _complete_ **idiot**. Love does that to people, Ardee. You remember that. People do the stupidest things when they're hot for a girl." Ardee nodded in agreement, cheeks puffing as he glared hatefully at the little stone now attached to his idol's body.

"I _heard_ that." Adam muttered as he flexed his hands and tested his limbs, "Well, whatever it is that it does is working. I'm feeling better already, and I should be healing soon. All that's left is to figure out my plan of attack and hope this thing doesn't suck away my humanity before I get it all done." The Asgard chef shook his head and looked thoughtful.

"Ah, have you met your uncle yet?" he asked and the blonde shook his head, confused by the sudden change of subjects, "Okay, then let me tell you about this little miracle candy that I was told to spread around Sylvarant." Fredrik pulled the recipe from a pocket and handed it to him to look over. "I got it in Asgard from an old couple who say some girl in torn up blue clothes was frantic about it getting to other cooks. They made some copies but then a bunch of crazy chefs in blue uniforms showed up, trashed their kitchen and ran off with the copies they made." He rubbed his head ruefully. "I barely made it out with _my_ copy, mostly 'cause I was renting the dragon for my trip when the whole thing happened." he sighed.

"This is Ginger's work!" Adam cried in shock, recognizing the handwriting and the description. He looked up from the paper at the older cook, surprised expression still on his face, "The Dark Chefs attacked Asgard to stop this recipe? Why?" Why would DuGorge want this candy under wraps when he had no problem with Ginger using her other recipes in battle?

"What kind of recipe is it?" Ardee asked, puzzled by the subject change as well.

"It's a candy that makes people feel really good when they eat it." the Asgard chef explained offhandedly as Adam returned his attention to the paper and read the ingredients to himself.

"This isn't normal candy; this looks like medicine. Powerful herbal medicine disguised as candy. A third of the ingredients counter various common poisons, another couple here counters addictions..." he muttered thoughtfully and jerked his head up as a feeling of dread suddenly came over him, "Fredrik, these candies... have you seen what they look like?" The older man blinked in surprise at being asked such a question before rolling his eyes upward in recollection.

"Yeah, they look like gels... same color as your eyes." he finally remarked, gesturing at the paper in Adam's hands, "Eat one and they make you feel like you took a taste of heaven. If Sylvarant sold these to Tethe'alla, our money problems would be over in no time!" The blonde had already stopped paying attention by then, color draining out of his face.

This was the recipe to the candies Ginger gave him to cure him of the poisons that made him sick in NeOzette and Meltokio. Adam stared at the paper in his hands as everything seemed to click into place. The candy in Sybak that Caleb bought were Ginger's recipe, but not made by her. Each time he got sick, he'd been eating those candies. Ginger's expression of guilt when she helped him the first time, her sudden abandonment of the Dark Chefs, her need to get validation for her candy recipes, the thefts of the dessert items all over the world. This was what she'd been trying to warn him about, and like an idiot Adam didn't listen in time.

"That's the Dark Chefs' plan." he whispered in realization.

"Sir?" Ardee piped in, baffled by the events and the look on the Wonder Chef's face just as Fredik chipped in with a 'Come again?' with a blank expression on his face. Adam shook his head and stared at the recipe in his hands.

"I know what's going on now! I should have seen this coming!" he exclaimed, one hand gripping his head as his thoughts raced to the end result of the plot, "The Dark Chef Alliance is going to use candy to poison the world!" He shook the paper at them for emphasis, "_This_ is the **antidote** to the Dark Chefs' candy! This must be what Ginger meant by a candy that equaled the power of the Ultimate Recipe! Candy that cures everything to save lives!"

"That explains all those candy stores opening in Tethe'alla." the Asgard chef muttered darkly, taking back the paper to study the ingredients with a new awareness, "They're trying to open here, too, but they're up against stiff competition. These candies are already being sold here, so Sylvaranti poisonings shouldn't be too big a problem."

"No, but I have to worry about Tethe'alla. Right now, **they're** more powerful than Sylvarant. If some of those candies are as addictive as I think they are, and the nobles over there eat them..." Adam pointed out and closed his eyes in pain, hand rising to press over his hidden eye, "Oh, Goddess... they're going to use Tethe'alla to start a war with Sylvarant. DuGorge will tell the nobility to wage a war for more candy. A new famine will rise, and the Dark Chefs will hold all the food that's left in their tight little hands." He opened his eyes, face pale as he lowered his hand to face his friends. "DuGorge will rule the world by taking control of the food supply. I knew it! _He who holds the bounty of the land, wields all power in his hand._" he quoted in a hollow tone, shoulders sagging as the weight of his realization finally settled on him.

"This is big." Ardee murmured and shook his head, "Too big. There's _no way_ the few Wonder Cooks left on our side will be able to stop this without the powers of the Wonder Fork. We need you to teleport us all to those candy shops before they start selling candy!" Adam flinched at the reminder of the giant utensil and folded his arms protectively over his chest, glancing aside to avoid looking at the little Wonder Cook.

"I... I don't have it. I gave it to Ginger." Adam revealed uncomfortably, squeezing his eyes shut as the memory of that horrible cooking battle came back to flaunt his failure as Wonder Chef to him again. Ardee blinked and opened his mouth to demand why. "She beat me in a cooking battle." the blonde told him firmly before the boy could speak, glaring at him before looking away again, "She beat me fair and square, and the deal was that I would renounce my title to her if she won. I did."

"You're lying!" Ardee cried in denial, tears starting anew as he stepped back, shaking his head as though to dislodge the words from his ears and pretend he'd never heard them.

"No, I'm **not**. I'm not the Wonder Chef anymore, and since the Wonder Fork won't respond to her that means only one thing. There is no Wonder Chef at all; I will be the last one." Adam disagreed and picked up the torn and bloodied cape, gazing at it sadly before his expression grew more determined. He gripped the fabric tightly, then turned to face the boy chef, holding the ruined cape out to him. "When you reach my father, give this to him. Tell him his son is dead. It would mean a lot to me if you deliver this message for me." he remarked softly, then looked at Fredrik as Ardee stared at him in disbelief and shock, numbly taking the cape into his hands. "Fredrik, I need you to copy that recipe for me. I know what it is I'm going to do to stop the Dark Chefs from making more poison candy."

"This is nuts, man." the Asgard chef grumbled as he got to work making the copy, "I'm almost afraid to ask what you're gonna do."

"There's very little anyone can do about the candies that are already in stores except pray that they don't cause as much damage as the ones that are coming next." Adam began determinedly, "Fredrik, you continue passing this recipe around; Ardee, you help him until you can get to Alvanista. Once there, tell my father I died and that this candy must be made and spread all over Tethe'alla immediately." He held up a hand to halt Ardee's protests and explained himself, "He'll focus on that better without me to worry about, and if everyone believes I'm dead, then I can't be used against them if things don't turn out well." He accepted the copy and slipped it into his pack with a murmur of thanks. "Meanwhile, I'm going to go and start giving the Dark Chefs some payback for the sabotage they put us through." Adam went on planning aloud, shouldering his travel pack as the pain in his back finally receded to little more than a dull ache, "I'll infiltrate their base in the Famine Temple and use this recipe to put counter-ingredients into the cooking vats so the Dark candy loses its effectiveness."

"And **how** are you going to sneak into a base full of thousands of Dark Chefs?" Ardee demanded, shaking the bloodied cape at him, "I still can't believe you're making me tell everyone you're dead!" Adam grinned, a strange shine in his visible eye as he stood before the two chefs without the hat, cape and fork that made him recognizable as Wonder Chef.

"Easy! I'm going to join the Dark Chefs!" he laughed. His companions yelled at him in a fury, raging at the sheer lunacy of the idea. "Hey, you can blame the Council of Gourmet Chefs for giving me the idea." Adam pointed out with a smile, "_If a traitor I am branded, then a traitor I shall be! _I'll become a Dark Chef and sabotage their candies on the inside. You guys have to help the Wonder Cooks stop the candies that are already out there and cure anyone who might be affected, paying special attention to royalty and other people in positions of power." He snapped his fingers as a memory struck him, "The Pope in Meltokio! He was the one who helped DuGorge get the ingredients for all this! Start with him and work your way out. There's **got** to be others who have addictions that need to be broken!"

"You're going to be recognized going in there." Fredrik grumbled with a huff, kicking dirt over the remnants of the campfire in his distaste for the plan Adam had come up with, "You're very well-known to them, being the spike in the punch for so long."

"I'm going to disguise myself, of course. I'll get new clothes, maybe steal a Dark Chef uniform like Ginger took one of ours... I'll be _fine_!" Adam remarked brightly and headed for the winged dragon, "You guys get going already! I have a lot of work to do! And if you see Ginger, don't you dare tell her what I'm doing!"

"How about telling her you're in _looove_ with her?" Fredrik called up spitefully as Ardee packed away the stained and tattered cape, sniffling at the idea of everything forcing such a cruel fate for his superior but refusing to give in to crying again. He'd been entrusted with a job to do by the Wonder Chef and he'd be damned if he didn't do his duty, even if he still thought it was stupid.

"You do and I swear I'll find a way back from the dead to haunt your cooking pot!" the blonde chef yelled back and flew away.

"This is insane." Fredrik muttered with a shake of his head, "Well, Ardee, let's hurry up and do our part here. We can catch a boat from Izoold to Venezzia and then catch a ship to Alvanista's port. There's plenty of other people around here that are spreading the recipe besides me, so let's go straight to Adam's dad and tell him what's going on."

"What are we going to do?" Ardee whispered as he mounted the dragon with the older chef, "The Wonder Chef wants to die to save the world. I thought the reunion of the worlds was going to make everything _better_, not **worse**." He sniffled again as he looked back at the receding dot in the sky. "I don't _want_ you to die, sir; you're like a big brother to me, to _all_ of us. We all love you, too; doesn't that **mean** anything to you?" he added sadly before turning to face forward on his own mission.


End file.
